Cuccinelli Sends Letter to ISA

 

June 19, 2008                                                                 www.Cuccinelli.com

 

FAIRFAX, VA – Senator Ken Cuccinelli (R-37), a current candidate for Virginia Attorney General, today released the following letter to Abdalla Al-Shabnan, Director-General of the Islamic Saudi Acadamy. The letter follows controversy surrounding the content of the Academy’s textbooks which merited a sharp review from the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom last Wednesday.

 

 

Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II

 

June 17, 2008

 

Mr. Abdalla Al-Shabnan

Director-General

Islamic Saudi Academy

8333 Richmond Highway

Alexandria, VA 22309

 

RE: Public repudiation of teaching of violence at Islamic Saudi Academy

Dear Mr. Al-Shabnan:

I read with great concern recent Washington Times news articles regarding the teaching of violent practices to students at the Islamic Saudi Academy on your two northern Virginia campuses. The Times reported on June 12, 2008, that a federal investigation found that your textbooks “teach students that it is permissible for Muslims to kill adulterers and converts from Islam.” 

 
ISA in its June 13, 2008, website press release states partially in response, “The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) once again issued an erroneous report about the Islamic Saudi Academy.  The report contains mistranslated and misinterpreted texts, and references to textbooks that are no longer in use at the Academy.”

 

While I appreciate the press release response, it is not sufficient to alleviate concern. Since the allegations of teaching of violence are not directly and unequivocally repudiated in the press release, doubt remains that the allegations might indeed be true. 

Therefore I call on you and each member of your Board of Directors to publicly (1) repudiate teaching at ISA that it is permissible for Muslims to kill adulterers and converts from Islam, (2) affirm that it is not acceptable for your students to be taught lessons which if acted upon would violate US law and (3) that such lessons are not being taught at ISA.

Sincerely,

 

Kenneth T. Cuccinelli, II

 

Date Published: 2008-06-25 04:52:27

Section: Politics,