WASHINGTON, United States: A U.S. Federal panel urged the State Department to shut down a Saudi government-supported private school in Northern Virginia for teaching religious intolerance.

According to The Washington Post report, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom criticized what it called the promotion of religious extremism in Saudi-run schools around the world, including in the kingdom. It leveled particular criticism at the Islamic Saudi Academy, which operates two campuses in Fairfax County, expressing significant concerns that the school is promoting a brand of religious intolerance that could prove a danger to the United States.

The commission said it is concerned about the textbooks used in the school because those used by schools in Saudi Arabia promote violence against Christians, Jews, Shias and polytheists.

The commission and other religious-freedom groups have been complaining about Saudi textbooks for years, and congressional hearings have been held on the subject. Last year, the Saudi government agreed to make changes. The commission is following up but said it has not been given access to the revised texts.