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Saudi-funded school in Germany âlinked to terrorist attacksâ
EFLExplosives and a testament like those written by suicide bombers have been found at the home of a man linked to a Saudi-funded school, German secret service sources said yesterday, intensifying pressure for the institution to be closed. The King Fahd Academy in Bonn was set up eight years ago with £10 million from the Saudi royal family, and was hailed as a "cultural One parent, identified only as Sayed M, 39, an Egyptian, went on trial last month charged with plotting bomb attacks on Jewish sites in Germany. Several houses near the school, including those of some parents, have been raided in recent days, German intelligence said. At the home of one man linked to the school explosives, bomb-making instructions and a statement in the style of suicide bombersâ wills were found. The discoveries have fuelled a simmering row between Berlin and Riyadh, heightened when Chancellor Gerhard Schroder told his hosts during a visit to Saudi Arabia: "This must be stopped." Pupils, including girls in headscarves, were observed continuing with lessons in Arabic and mathematics as normal yesterday, watched at the gates of the gold-domed building by armed guards. Although 40 per cent of the 500 pupils have German citizenship and will probably spend their lives in the country, education officials are concerned that only one to two hours a week are dedicated to learning German. Religious instruction is give eight to nine hours. Textbooks seized last week by police and examined by experts are said to have a "disturbing" content and to present a "very narrow interpretation" of Islam. A teacher at the school was filmed by German television calling for a holy war "in the name of Allah" during prayers at a mosque attached to the institution. The teacher was suspended. Posted by: Bulldog 2003-10-24 |
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