Thread: 'Five pillars of Islam' taught in public school

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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

BRAVE NEW SCHOOLS
'Five pillars of Islam' taught in public school
'Education practice wouldn't last 10 seconds if kids told to dress as priests'

Posted: October 10, 2006
1:00 a.m. Eastern

By Bob Unruh

© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
Another school has been "teaching" Islam by having students study and learn Muslim prayers and dress as Muslims, and a lawyer who argued a previous dispute over this issue to the U.S. Supreme Court said such methodologies wouldn't "last 10 seconds" if it were Christianity being taught.
"Would it have been 'just cultural education' if students were in simulated baptisms, wearing a crucifix, having taken the name of St. John and with praise banners saying 'Praise be to Jesus Christ' on classroom walls?" asked Edward White III, of the Thomas More Law Center.
His comments came after a new protest arose in Nyssa, Ore., where one parent raised objections when the Islamic teachings came to light. The district there, according to Supt. Don Grotting, is teaching a chapter in a history textbook "Journey Across Time" that talks about "how civilization has developed and some of the particular aspects of Islam."
"We teach out of the book, and there are some supplemental class activities," he told WND. "The kids do some skits, they could bring a food from the region, you could build a prop that would have depicted (something) maybe during that time period.
"If you wanted to you could dress up (as a Muslim) for extra credit," he said.
He said students also learned about the climate of the Middle East, the food and everyday activities of Islam, and the geography and the lay of the land.
Still another assignment was to learn the "five pillars" of Islam, study Ramadan and listen to guest speakers including an American Muslim who arrived dressed in her religious costume to talk to the kids about her Quran.
"She relayed to the kids, if you're a Christian you have your Bible, this is our Quran," Grotting said.
(Story continues below)
Parent Kendalee Garner, however, objected to having her son being taught Islam and also to the time the public school system spends on the subject.
She told WND that her 13-year-old son is being "indoctrinated that Islam is a religion of peace, and being dressed up as a Muslim, being taught prayers, and scriptures out of the Quran."
"I just don't understand the ban on Christianity but Islam has free rein," she said.
She said the guest speakers and skits and reports were wrong, but what set her off was a class in which students in all three social studies classes dressed in traditional Islamic outfits.
"The only reason I knew about it was because my son told me about it," she said. "They sent him to the library instead of stopping what they were doing. I'm sure people would be outraged if they dressed up as the pope."
That was White's point exactly.
If that's how teaching about religions is done, he said, "then teach all religions in the same way, Christianity, Judaism. Have the kids study Native American religions, do the dance, smoke the pipe. Have the kids dress up as priests and hear confession."
He said when he suggests that, school managers and even judges get that "panic-stricken" look.
He knows because he argued the same dispute up to the U.S. Supreme Court after complaints of similar teachings in the Byron Union School District in California.
As WND has reported that case was almost a duplicate. Teachers were having students memorize Islamic prayers, wear Islamic dress and learn to behave as a Muslim under the guise of studying history.
Some parents objected and their resulting lawsuit was turned back by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals where the opinion called it "cultural education."
The U.S. Supreme Court last week declined to intervene, but lawyers note that's not necessarily an endorsement of the court; it just means the justices will not review the dispute at this point.
White said he actually challenged the 9th Circuit to write its instructions in a detailed opinion, so schools would know exactly what's required. However, he said the court brushed him off with a three-paragraph ruling that essentially boils down to one district judge saying it's okay in one school district.
"Why is it okay to teach Islam? Unless there's an exception in the Establishment Clause, which says you cannot teach religion in schools unless it's Islam," he said. "I haven't seen it."
Grotting said the course has been taught for several years, and comes mandated by the state under a set of required standards – called Benchmark 3 – that students must reach each year.
Grotting acknowledged to WND that textbooks do "take a slant" on some issues, because publishers "are wanting to sell a textbook that is meeting the needs of the state and federal mandates."
"I believe we're not here to promote or advocate either religion or politics," social studies teacher Jim Casad told the Ontario, Ore., Argus Observer. "However, we do have an obligation to inform students of what is going on in our world today and how history and culture have affected that world."
In the California case, school officials also blamed the "possible cant" of the textbook and said the Islamic studies were being taught because of state mandates.
"It is imperative that our instruction includes an understanding of and insight into all cultures and a tolerance for the diversity found in the world," said Peggy Green, the Byron Union School District superintendent, at that time.
A review online of information from the text shows that it teaches Christianity spread because "it gave meaning to peoples' lives, appealed to their emotions and promised happiness after death."
Its description also focuses on Christians' conflicts with Rome (when they were fed to lions), and splits between Christians following Roman teachings and those following the teachings of Constantine.
However, the article praises how the Muslims founded the system for banking, created important centers for learning, government and the arts, how they ran "government, society and business" and made valuable contributions in math, science and the arts.
The text also credits Muslims with inventing algebra and chemistry as well as creating beautiful buildings, citing the Taj Mahal, although the text does not mention that that is a tomb.
There's also no mention of the Quranic instruction that Muslims must behead infidels, or nonbelievers.
One blogger said Christians should think strategically on such issues.
"Cases like this present Christians with a golden opportunity to introduce elements of religious teaching back into the state curriculum by using the left's double standard towards Islam against it," said one commentator. "Now that this case is on the books in the Ninth Circuit as precedent, expect Christian immersion classes to follow."

OUR CHILDREN CANNOT EVEN SAY GOD IN SCHOOLS

This is appalling...truly shocking!!!!!

If I had kids, I'd pull them out of that school and file a lawsuit!!!

Another good argument for home schooling.

Quick, someone contact the ACLU!

As if the education system wasn't bad enough already, plus with studies showing evidence that homeschooling is better in more ways than academically ... well, it certainly makes it more appealing than institutional schooling.

This sort of religious indoctrination has no place in any public school, no matter WHAT the religion under discussion is. The only way I could even begin to accept this bilge is if the precepts of other faiths are also studied. We can start with:

The 12 Principles of Buddism: http://www.budtempchi.org/12prin.html

The Nine Noble Virtues of Asatru: http://www.haxton.org/nineasa.htm

The Principles of Sikhism: http://www.dlshq.org/religions/sikhism.htm

I wouldn't expect a lesson to go that far; however muslims have contributed to the world and their history has a place in world history, thus in education.

I fired off my letter to that paper this morning.

I will just add this to my long list of why my children will not attend these indoctrination centers of no knowledge.

Gabriel - while muslims have contributed to world history, the teaching of Islam should not be anywhere near any government run school. Especially in light of the fact that our children (many of whom are Christian) are not even allow to mention God in school, say Merry Christmas, pray, etc. See below as an example.


http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.c ... =5845&on=1

Student told to not read Bible, suit claims


10/05/06
By Pete Pichaske

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The mother of a seventh-grader at Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School has filed a lawsuit against administrators at the South Laurel school, claiming her daughter was barred from reading the Bible during lunch period and threatened with punishment if she did it again.

In her complaint, filed Sept. 29, Maryann Mangum of Laurel, the grandmother and adoptive mother of 13-year-old Amber Mangum, claimed the administrators' actions were a violation of Amber's First Amendment rights and of the school system's own policy.

"Contrary to the fundamental liberties enshrined in the United States and Maryland Constitutions, Amber Mangum was ordered, under threat of disciplinary action, to cease reading her personal Bible during her lunch period," the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Greenbelt, states.

"Despite requests that the order be withdrawn, the Defendants have refused to renounce the warning that Amber will be disciplined if she reads her Bible at school."

The incident that sparked the lawsuit occurred Sept. 14, when Amber Mangum was reading her Bible during lunch period. According to the lawsuit, students at Eisenhower often read books during lunch period, and Amber "is a Christian and takes great comfort in reading the Bible."

But when Assistant Principal Jeanette Rainey saw what Amber was doing, the lawsuit states, she informed the student that reading the Bible violated school policy and that if she did it again, she would be disciplined.

Amber put her Bible away, but when she got home she told her mother and a family friend, James Baker, about the incident, the lawsuit states.

Procedures cited

Baker sent a letter to school administrators complaining about their actions, and attaching a copy of the Prince George's County school system's administrative procedures, which state: "Students may read their Bibles or other scriptures, say grace before meals, and pray before tests to the same extent they may engage in comparable, non-disruptive activities."

When administrators did not respond to the letter, the lawsuit states, Maryann Mangum, at the suggestion of a friend from church, contacted the Rutherford Institute, a Charlottesville, Va.-based, civil liberties organization that handles cases involving religious liberties.

Rutherford President John Whitehead said he also sent a letter to school administrators, telling them their policy was a violation of civil rights and asking them to allow Amber to read her Bible.

When administrators did not respond, he said, attorneys filed the lawsuit.

Whitehead said the lawsuit, while requesting unspecified "compensatory and punitive damages," mainly wants a judicial ruling that students can read the Bible in school during their free time.

Neither Principal Charoscar Coleman nor Vice Principal Rainey could be reached for comment on the lawsuit.

Investigation launched

Prince George's school system spokesman John White said the system's attorneys formally learned about the suit Tuesday, Oct. 3, and immediately began an investigation of the incident.

White declined to comment on the lawsuit, but, when asked about the system's policy on reading the Bible, he said: "If you're asking me can a child read the Bible during lunch hour, the answer is yes."

He added: "But before jumping to conclusions, we need to go through the process and see what happened here."

Whitehead said the case is clear- cut.

"The Constitution is really clear on this," Whitehead said. "Kids have the right to receive information, the right to freedom of religion. ... This was a clear violation of the Constitution and a clear violation of their own policy."

Whitehead added that his organization is hearing more and more reports from students and parents complaining about such prohibitions. He speculated it was result of an over-emphasis on "political correctness."

Originally Posted by Gabriel

I wouldn't expect a lesson to go that far; however muslims have contributed to the world and their history has a place in world history, thus in education.

Alrighty then, GABRIEL. You are correct, however, you've left out the little part about Christian and Judaic contributions to the world to name only 2 of many.

So, when are we to see our children studying these other contributions? Or, as it's plain to see, the mulsim faith, which by the way, has been a much more violent faith than most others, is the only to be 'studied.'

I'd whip my kids out of there faster than a NY minute and lay a lawsuit on them before they could blink. This is a blatant attempt at DIVERSITY / RELIGIOUS indoctrination.

I wouldn't expect a lesson to go that far; however muslims have contributed to the world and their history has a place in world history, thus in education.

I'm sure there were parents who thought the same thing ... until it happened.

As others pointed out, this isn't about the contributions muslims have made, it has to do with teaching a religion in a public school.