Outcry as Arabic exercise sparks closure of schools

Schools in a Virginia county closed yesterday as a safety precaution after an assignment asking students to practice Arabic calligraphy sparked an angry outcry from parents and threats from outside the district.

Augusta County Public Schools officials said no specific threat of harm had been made against students in the district, located in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, about 240km southwest of Washington.

However, the volume of calls and emails related to the high school class lesson and concerns over their “tone and content” prompted the school closures, according to a statement on the district’s website.