The Al-Hadi School of Accelerative Learning (AHS) is an
Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic primary and secondary school in
Southwest
The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
.
[School Profile]
." Al-Hadi School of Accelerative Learning. Retrieved on October 4, 2010. The school is founded by
Nasser Biria
Mohammad Nasser Saghaye-Biria ( fa, محمدناصر سقای بیریا) is an Iranian Shi'a cleric, conservative politician and head of psychology department at Imam Khomeini Educational Research Institute. He is a senior member of Front of Is ...
and is located on the premises of the Islamic Education Center of Greater Houston (IEC) of Houston, which also houses one of the largest
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
s in Houston.
[US Govt move to seize 4 mosques, tower linked to Iran]
" ''Indian Express
''The Indian Express'' is an English-language Indian daily newspaper founded in 1932. It is published in Mumbai by the Indian Express Group. In 1999, eight years after the group's founder Ramnath Goenka's death in 1991, the group was split betw ...
''. Friday November 13, 2009. Retrieved on October 4, 2010. According to Faheem Kazimi, the chairperson of the IEC, it is a Houston-area school that runs on tuition fees that comes from the students ranging to $5000.
[Watkins, Andrea and Alexander Supgul.]
Business as Usual at Islamic School
" '' KRIV''. Friday November 13, 2009. Retrieved on October 4, 2010. The school is near
Westheimer Road
Westheimer Road () is an arterial east–west road in Houston, Texas, United States. It runs from Bagby Street in Downtown and terminates at the Westpark Tollway on the southern edge of George Bush Park, stretching about long. The street was n ...
.
[Mendoza, Moises, Mary Flood and Lindsay Wise.]
Muslims decry move to seize Houston mosque
" ''Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
''. November 13, 2009. Retrieved on October 4, 2010.
History
The
Alavi Foundation, a charitable Islamic foundation headquartered in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
, purchased the property that would become the IEC for $1.1 million in 1988.
In March 1995 a "Full-Time School Committee" formed with the intent of establishing a year-round Islamic primary and secondary school in
Greater Houston
Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing nine counties along the Gulf Co ...
. The Al-Hadi School opened on January 9, 1996.
[Our History]
." Al-Hadi School of Accelerative Learning. Retrieved on October 4, 2010. Between 1997 and 2004 the Alavi Foundation made $285,000 worth of improvements to the IEC property.
In 2001 the
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...
accredited the school. The first class of high school seniors graduated in 2003.
In 2009 the
Federal Government of the United States
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
attempted to seize over $500 million in assets from the Alavi Foundation, accusing the foundation of being a front for the
Government of Iran
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran ( fa, نظام جمهوری اسلامی ایران, Neẓām-e jomhūrī-e eslāmi-e Irān, known simply as ''Neẓām'' ( fa, نظام, lit=the system) among its supporters) is the ruling state a ...
. The IEC, including Al-Hadi School, was among the assets. The IEC property had a brief mention in the federal lawsuit. The federal government did not file any allegations of wrongdoing of workers and worshipers at the IEC mosque. Houston-area Shia Muslims criticized the federal government's actions.
As the federal lawsuit unfolded, the Islamic school continued to operate.
Demographics
As of 2023, about 400 (future: expected 750) students attend the school. Most of the students are
bilingual
Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all E ...
, with several languages represented in the student body.
In 2007 the school had 310 students. Most of the students were Shia. About 25% of the students were Sunni, and two families sending children to the school were not Muslim.
[Karkabi, Barbara.]
The two faces of Islam
Archive
. ''Houston Chronicle
The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Texas, United States. , it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. With it ...
''. February 24, 2007. Retrieved on May 3, 2014.
See also
*
Islam in Houston
As of 2012, the city of Houston has the largest Muslim population in Texas and the largest Muslim population in the Southern United States. That year, Kate Shellnut of the ''Houston Chronicle'' wrote that "Some estimate that Muslims make up 1.2 per ...
*
Nasser Biria
Mohammad Nasser Saghaye-Biria ( fa, محمدناصر سقای بیریا) is an Iranian Shi'a cleric, conservative politician and head of psychology department at Imam Khomeini Educational Research Institute. He is a senior member of Front of Is ...
*
Ali
ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib ( ar, عَلِيّ بْن أَبِي طَالِب; 600 – 661 CE) was the last of four Rightly Guided Caliphs to rule Islam (r. 656 – 661) immediately after the death of Muhammad, and he was the first Shia Imam ...
*
Mahdi
The Mahdi ( ar, ٱلْمَهْدِيّ, al-Mahdī, lit=the Guided) is a Messianism, messianic figure in Islamic eschatology who is believed to appear at the Eschatology, end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. He is said to be a de ...
*
Alireza Abedi Ali Reza (also spelled Alireza or Ali-Reza) is a given name popular among Iranians referring to the imams of Shia Islam Ali and Ali al-Ridha.
People Ali Reza
* Ali-Reza Asgari, Iranian general
* Ali Reza Eftekhari, Iranian pop singer
* Ali Reza N ...
References
External links
Al-Hadi School of Accelerative Learning
{{authority control
Islamic schools in Texas
1996 establishments in Texas
Religious schools in Houston
Private K–12 schools in Houston
Islam in Houston