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County Seeks State Department Views On Saudi Academy

By Howard M. Friedman

The Fairfax County (VA) Board of Supervisors has voted to renew the lease of a former county high school building for another year to the controversial Saudi Academy, but subject to State Department approval. On Tuesday, NBC4 and the Washington Post reported that in a letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Board wrote: "As a local governmental entity, Fairfax County is not capable of determining whether textbooks, written in Arabic, contain language that promotes violence or religious intolerance, or is otherwise offensive to the interests of the United States." The Academy, operated by the Saudi government, has been strongly criticized by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom that has pressed allegations regarding textbooks used in the school. (See prior posting.)

Full post as published by Religion Clause on June 25, 2008 (boomark / email).