Young children at a non-public charter school sanctioned by the Ohio Department of Education are taught to memorize sections of the Quran.
The Islamic Center of Mason Learning Academy was founded by Anila Zindani, a mother who wanted to teach her son the Islamic religious text.
“Oh my God, it means the whole world to me,” she said in an interview with WCPO-TV. “This school is really special.”
A reporter for the outlet noted that the mosque adjacent to the school is currently undergoing a $12 million expansion, which will include new classrooms for the school.
They are still raising millions of dollars for the project.
“🌙Whoever builds a Masjid for Allah, Allah will build for him a house in Jannah.”
— Sahih al-Bukhari (Hadith 450), Sahih Muslim (Hadith 533)🔗 link to donate: https://t.co/uiZjS3omJG
🤲 Be part of building a house of Allah and securing your akhirah.
📲 Donate today pic.twitter.com/mnTARIAAGa— Islamic Center of Mason (@icmohio) October 10, 2025
The Islamic Center of Mason Learning Academy boasts on its website that it is “officially affiliated with the State of Ohio Department of Education.”
The webpage links to a digitally scanned letter from the agency saying that the school “meets the compulsory attendance obligation” in the state and would be “registered with the Ohio Department of Education.”
The name of Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine was featured on the top of the letter.
The entity has 38 students in preschool, kindergarten, first grade, and second grade for the current school year.
The webpage for the school largely emphasizes Quran reading classes.
“Our mission is to help students of all ages, ethnicities, and cultural backgrounds to learn how to read the Quran,” the school said.
Students will “build a relationship with the Book of Allah” as well as “learn to read the Quran in the correct way.”
As noted in a report from Blaze Media, a social media post from the Islamic Center of Mason quoted the Quran in saying that “whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent,” advising followers to “save yourself before it’s too late.”
Save yourself before it’s too late.
“Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak good or remain silent.”
(Sahih Buqari-6018)#ICMMasjid #IslamicCenterOfMason #MasonOhio #ICMCommunity #MuslimCommunity pic.twitter.com/7uLKZwTwN0— Islamic Center of Mason (@icmohio) October 9, 2025
The founding and growth of the Islamic school comes in the wake of increased Islamic immigration into Ohio.
There are about 100,000 Muslims living in central Ohio, while about 60 percent of them are Somalis, according to a report from WOSU.
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