Muslims Build New School in Lexington, KY

September 15, 2003

Source: Lexington Herald-Leader

http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/news/6774662.htm

On September 15, 2003 the Lexington Herald-Leader reported that "for two years it has been a dream postponed, but it's a dream about to become a dream fulfilled. It's the Lexington Universal Academy, Lexington's newest private school and the first built and sponsored by Muslims. The academy...is scheduled to open Oct. 6. The delay was not the fault of the academy's founders. It was caused when, according to a fire department investigation, lightning touched off a fire Oct. 24, 2001, on the 1.9-acre site. The blaze gutted the single-story, 4,300-square-foot building of the Islamic Society of Central Kentucky, which was to have become a school for grades K-5 in January 2002. In a sense, the setback became a blessing. The building's charred remains were cleared out, and now workers are finishing a new brick building about five times bigger (22,500 square feet)."