As you probably have heard, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors yesterday voted 6-4 to approve a zoning exemption to allow the Islamic Saudi Academy to expand. The school has generated controversy over its teachings, and "has undergone a series of high-profile examinations of its religious curriculum, which has been revised repeatedly to remove passages that extolled militant jihad and martyrdom." Also, in 2007, "at least one textbook still said that the killing of adulterers and apostates was 'justified.'" For their part, "students, parents and teachers say the school does not teach intolerance."Anyway, what I'm hearing is that the vote breakdown over the school's expansion was:
Sharon Bulova: No
John C. Cook: No
Pat Herrity: No
Linda Smyth: No
John Foust: Yes
Michael Frey: Yes
Penelope Gross: Yes
Catherine Hudgins: Yes
Gerald Hyland: Yes
Jeff McKay: Yes
What I'm wondering is the reasoning behind the votes. It seems to me that if this school is teaching hatred and intolerance, then nobody should have voted "yes." If it isn't teaching hatred and intolerance, then it's hard to see why anybody should have voted "no." Unless, of course, there are other considerations, like zoning, traffic, etc., that were paramount in the voting decisions. Regardless, it's an "interesting" coalition of "no" votes...two Republicans and two Democrats, with the "yes" votes overwhelmingly Democratic. I'm not sure what to make of this exactly; any thoughts? Thanks.
