As I walked through the school it was clear that it was just like any other school in the area, the walls covered with student paintings illustrating one theme or another. There were absolutely no in your face religious themes, just mentions of things like Muslim politeness or Muslim behavior on posters with the list of the same sort of rules you see in any other school. First impressions were that it was exactly the sort of school where any kid could get a great education, and the facilities were generally superior to those in the elementary schools where I teach.

I must say, however, that I have never seen a school cafeteria quite like the one at Granada. The food was fresh cooked, healthy, and had plenty of stuff that kids like, including pizza and a wide assortment of ice cream. Beverages included the usual assortment plus a wide range of coffees and energy drinks. The kids and their parents both seemed happy, though some of the prices reminded me more of a mall than a village school.

Perhaps the most striking sight was the huge contingent of Granada kids wearing their green chess team shirts. On the front, the team named Granada Guardians was prominent. On the back, there were four sponsors, including Dr Pepper, which gave a very American touch to the uniform. I have never seen a scholastic chess team with so much corporate sponsorship. Most of the kids from the school were wearing those shirts, and I didn't see a single burkha on a competitor. A few of the girls wore head scarves, but not many.

All of the kids got along well and played together, as one might expect. The Granada team made it clear they were out to win every individual and team trophy possible, and collected over a dozen trophies. These kids take their chess seriously and went all out to win every competition. Their goal was clearly to dominate the California chess scene. This is exactly the sort of healthy competition we need for our kids, where race, creed, orientation, and politics plays no part.

With all the American paranoia about the madrassas out there creating a bunch of future terrorists, people should all visit the Granada Muslim school to see some of the reality at least here in America. The kids at the school are being taught to become fine citizens with good educations and solid academic skills. It is at exactly what a school all to be.

Though I am no fan of organized religion, to put it mildly, I was very comfortable at this religious school and got no sense at all that these kids were somehow being brainwashed with values are foreign to my American ideals. And seeing all these kids of various religions and ethnicities enjoying a day of playing chess together makes me wish there were more schools like this.

And yes, all of my participating students won trophies, even the blind kindergarten girl who has won trophies in her last four competitions, the only ones she has ever played. One of the nicest things about the chess community is that everyone can play regardless of race, creed, orientation, gender, disability, or economic class.

Finally, I should mention that whoever runs the school is clearly not a fan of that foolish old man Al-Sistani, who has informed his Iraqi Shiite followers that chess is an abomination and against the Muslim faith. The kids are taught that chess has been a part of Muslim culture for over 1500 years, and are not informed that the famous Iraqi cleric is simply flat-out wrong on the issue.

So, I'm happy to see these kids trying to dominate the chess world. And I look forward to the school establishing itself as the main base for Scholastic chess in the Bay Area.