Tennessee “School Choice” Program Filtering Taxpayer Dollars To Muslim Schools Embracing Sharia Law

Image: Historical Muslim Day on the Hill Image Credit: Pleasant View School / Facebook

The Tennessee Conservative [By Olivia Lupia] –

After calling an extraordinary special session of the General Assembly this year, Governor Bill Lee was able to pass his Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship Program (EFS) to establish “universal school choice” for families across the state. But concerns are arising about exactly what kinds of education taxpayers are funding as several Muslim institutions were found on the list of approved schools.

Among the Muslim schools listed on the state’s website as eligible for receiving taxpayer dollars is “Pleasant View School” in Memphis, whose slogan is “Excellence in Education Through Islam”. 

Pleasant View School’s vision is to “establish a distinguished Islamic institution in North America which develops exemplary Muslims with academic excellence” by preparing “generations of scholars with a strong Islamic identity, leadership, and academic excellence who make a positive contribution to the global community.”

The institution provides a “strong foundation” in Islam to ensure students will “love Islam, learn Islam, and live Islam”, starting in pre-K where students will learn to “fully live a practicing Islamic lifestyle”. 

In in elementary school, students learn more about Islamic history and prophets like Muhammad, who married a child and waged war on those who would not accept the Islamic religion, as “role models to emulate”. Progressing to middle school, children learn “detailed rules” for Islamic life as taught by its holy texts, and high school curriculum will make certain they “come to understand Islam as a mission that guides their lives.”

And school leaders from these Islamic institutions also appear to be using their students to lobby state officials and push to shape state policy. Social media and public announcements reveal Pleasant View School students have joined with other Islamic schools in advocacy and worked with the American Muslim Advisory Council (AMAC) to influence state politics.

In March, the tax-funded school boasted about taking more than 40 students for a “historical Muslim Day on the Hill” where they had over 35 meetings with lawmakers and officials, “ensuring our voices were heard at the highest levels of state government”. “Our message was clear: Tennessee’s Muslim community is engaged, organized, and committed to advocating for justice,” the school said.

Other registered schools on the EFS list with Muslim or Islamic affiliations include Annoor Academy of Chattanooga, Annoor Academy of Knoxville, Nashville International Academy, and Zohor Academy USA, an online school based in Atlanta, GA.

According to a report from Freedom Project Media, critics of the EFS are sounding the alarm and calling on lawmakers to immediately cease all public funding for Islamic schools. 

Michael Hichborn, President of the research and education organization the Lepanto Institute, expressed concern about the extreme ideological differences between Islam and Christians and believes, “The very idea of that the taxes of Christians should be financing Islamic indoctrination is both unjust and dangerous.”

“As long as policymakers in this country maintain an indifferent attitude toward religion, there will always be the risk that schools indoctrinating kids in Islamic ideologies will receive public funding,” he warned. 

Christian Education Initiative Chairman Richard Hawkins stated that, “Government funding of ideas and ideologies that would overthrow our constitutional republic is extremely dangerous and irresponsible. Your tax dollars in the form of vouchers will support this subversion.”

State Representative Jody Barrett, who was one of 20 Republican reps to vote against the EFS program, said it was never really a “choice” program in the first place as over 90% of those on the receiving end of the scholarships were already in private schools. He also called the program “fiscally irresponsible” and warned against further government control creeping in. 

“This is not creating a pathway to educational freedom,” he cautioned. “There are already regulations: testing requirements, private schools must administer state-approved tests, and the results submitted to the state. This is just the beginning. The controls may not happen in the first year or the second, but those who take the money will eventually find themselves under the thumb of the state. They will no longer be fully private or autonomous.” 

And while Barrett believes that overall Republicans would not be comfortable with taxpayer funds going to these Islamic schools, he explained, “that the state is also intentionally withholding necessary information to fully understand what is going on here.”

The EFS has also recently come under fire as lawmakers have questioned information gaps and transparency in the data released by the state about the program. It is currently unknown if Gov. Lee is aware of the Muslim schools on the list of EFS approval or if he or the state legislature intends to take any action.

About the Author: Olivia Lupia is a political refugee from Colorado who now calls Tennessee home. A proud follower of Christ, she views all political happenings through a Biblical lens and aims to utilize her knowledge and experience to educate and equip others. Olivia is an outspoken conservative who has run for local office, managed campaigns, and been highly involved with state & local GOPs, state legislatures, and other grassroots organizations and movements. Olivia can be reached at olivia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.