So what is the next step for “welcoming” communities like Lewiston, Maine that has seen its Somali Muslim population skyrocket in recent years—-yes, they want their own school!
This must have been a pretty exciting hearing before the Maine State Charter School Commission on Friday.
Lewiston Sun Journal (hat tip: Michael). Emphasis below is mine:
AUBURN — Lewiston School Superintendent Bill Webster is not opposed to a taxpayer-funded charter school opening in Lewiston or Auburn.
But such a school must have a foundation of trust, Webster said Friday as he delivered damaging testimony to the state commission that will decide whether the Lewiston-Auburn Academy Charter School can open.
The Maine State Charter School Commission held a public hearing Friday at Central Maine Community College on the proposed school, which wants to open with 180 students in September.
Webster named three people*** that the application lists as supporters but whom Webster said are not. “It raises some concern about the truthfulness in this application,” he said.
Read about how Webster tracked down those who supposedly sent letters of support but never did. Then this—is the Gulen school movement involved?
Webster also questioned the proposed school’s ties to Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, who, according to Wikipedia, lives in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania. Webster said charter school applicant Tarlan Ahmadov is courting Lewiston Muslim students for the school.
The so-called Gulen movement includes schools around the country. A New York Times report about Gulen charter schools in Texas raised questions about whether the schools are using taxpayer money to benefit Gulen teachings.
Webster: If the school is non-religious, why is it targeting Muslims?
None of that means the local charter school would be tied to Gulen or would be a religious school, Webster said. But if the school is non-religious, “why is it targeting Muslims?” he asked.
The application includes 300 surveys from people who support the school, including 201 from Lewiston, of which 180 have names typical of Lewiston immigrants who practice Islam, Webster said.
He said he spoke with a member of the local mosque and was told Ahmadov, the applicant, spoke there and distributed surveys. Webster said he checked with Catholic churches and the East Auburn Baptist Church — the largest churches in the area — and learned Ahmadov did not appear at those churches.
“The bottom line is that, right or wrong, Gulen or not, the parents of this potential school likely view the school as matching well with their Muslim faith and quite possibly that is the only reason they would support the school,” Webster said.
A decision will be made March 4th.
***It’s too much to get into here, but former Mayor Gilbert, mentioned in this article as one of those who supposedly supported the school in a letter, but didn’t, was feted in Washington DC by Soros’ Center for American Progress, here in 2010, for his welcoming attitude toward the Somali demographic and cultural change coming to his town.
We have a lengthy archive on Lewiston, here. One of our top posts of all time is this one—Somali migration to Maine—it’s the welfare magnet stupid!
Quote in photo caption is here.