Abu Ali's arrest and his alleged ties to terrorism have focused new attention on the Islamic Saudi Academy in Alexandria, Virginia, where he graduated valedictorian in 1999. In a letter sent to the Saudi ambassador in Washington on Wednesday, Sen. Charles Schumer (Democrat-New York) called for renewed checks into the school's finances and its possible ties to extremism. "I ask for your assistance in fully disclosing the nature of this academy — what does it teach, from where does it receive funding, and to what extent it may be serving as a breeding ground for anti-American sentiment — and, possibly, even terrorist activities," Schumer wrote.School officials have declined to comment on Abu Ali or the case, and a note on its website yesterday said the school was closed for an emergency. Last year, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, CAIR, called on the Saudi Islamic Academy to stop using a textbook for first graders because it debased Christianity and Judaism. "A school should not be judged in one sentence in one book out of an entire curriculum, but if there's any kind of rhetoric that targets other faiths, that should be removed because it isn't something that child should be reading," Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director at CAIR, told Arab News yesterday.