Frank J. Gaffney Jr. is president of the Center for Security Policy, a nonprofit that looks for threats to American security and works to draw public and government attention to those threats. He is a supporter of the Stop the Madrassa Coalition and has been critical of the Khalil Gibran International Academy in New York City.

Stop the Madrassa Coalition was formed after the opening of Khalil Gibran International Academy, a charter school that focuses on teaching Arabic.

Elinor Pierce is a senior researcher at Harvard University’s Pluralism Project.

Edina Lekovic is the Director of Policy and Programming of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

M. Zuhdi Jasser is founder and chairman of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy, which promotes separation of mosque and state. He has said that “unusual accommodations” for one faith is not pluralism. AIFD is based in Phoenix, Ariz.

Read an Aug. 18, 2011, Patch.com article about students balancing school and their religion.

Read an Aug. 31, 2010, story from The National about celebrating Ramadan in public schools.

The Islamic information website Sound Vision posts a page describing six steps to getting religious accommodation in the public schools.

Read a July 21, 2006, Associated Press story posted by USA Today about public schools juggling the holidays of various religions, including Islam.