Source: The Washington Post
On February 25, 2002, The Washington Post featured an article on the newly formed PTA at the Washington Islamic Academy. "Those who gathered for a meeting of the newly formed Parent Teacher Association at the Muslim school in Springfield [VA] have different opinions and needs, but they have come together to talk about their children's educations... As Muslim schools grow in the United States, they will face pressures and interest about what they teach not only from the outside world, but also from parents, who are gaining an increasing voice within the schools... 'The idea is that we bring everyone together from the different Muslim countries who have different approaches, and we find common understanding in the fact that we are all here in America,' said Saleh M. Nusairat, principal of the Washington Islamic Academy, who is an immigrant from Jordan. 'Our role here is to get the best from each culture and do this within the American culture at the same time'... Muslim educators said that no other group in Muslim America is as diverse as the PTAs and that it reminds them of Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca that brings together followers from around the globe."