Thread: `Islam 101` flap draws 200 to school board meetimg

June 10, 2008, 10:42PM
'Islam 101' flap draws 200 to school board meeting
Most of the Friendswood residents demand junior high re-hires principal, some blast local officials, and others suspect group who gave presentation is linked to terrorists


By PEGGY O'HARE
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle


About 200 Friendswood residents, divided over a junior high principal's decision to let an Islamic group make a presentation to students last month, packed Tuesday night's school board meeting as the governing body considered whether to ban any future religious presentations by outsiders.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations in Houston sought permission to address the mostly Anglo student body at Friendswood Junior High after it was reported that a Muslim student was stuffed head-first into a trash can by a classmate. Principal Robin Lowe agreed to the 40-minute PowerPoint presentation on the basic beliefs of Islam, which drew howls of protest from some parents, talk-radio hosts and Christian clergy.

Last week, Lowe requested and received a new central administration job because, she said, she felt the controversy made continuing at the junior high impossible, Superintendent Trish Hanks said.

Most who spoke Tuesday blasted the school board and Hanks for not supporting Lowe.

"I ask that you as a board take certain actions — reinstate Robin Lowe with a suitable and public apology," said longtime Friendswood resident Tom Burke, drawing a loud burst of applause and whoops of approval from the audience.

"Pledge to listen to the wishes of the large, but all too silent majority, and close your ears to the vocal minority. This community has been embarrassed. You can turn that around and make yourselves and your community proud."

Other speakers, however, accused CAIR of having links to terrorism.
"That doesn't make all of CAIR bad, but that does mean you should check that group out before you allow them to make a presentation," said Eddie Cocetti. The presentation, he said, amounted to compelled attendance at a school function without parental notification.

However, M.A. Khalili, a CAIR board member, vehemently denied the organization has any ties to terrorism.

Hanks called for people to put the controversy behind them. Lowe, she said, is now the school district's director of testing and curriculum.

"She is not being 'hung out to dry' as some have suggested," Hanks told the crowd. "She has proven herself to be a first-class educator, and she does not deserve to be vilified."

Hanks described the trash can incident as a "random, impulsive act" that had nothing to do with religious preference or ethnicity. The offending student was disciplined, she said.

Hanks asked the school board to consider banning outsiders from making religious presentations to students. Under the proposal, which is scheduled for a vote next month, only Friendswood ISD teachers would address religious topics.
Lowe was not present because she was out of town, but more than a dozen parents took the podium to express dismay and disappointment over Lowe's job change.

Hanks' remarks did not seem to satisfy some parents. Several also questioned why a presentation made with good intentions yielded such bitter division among the suburban community.

Several referred to the criticism of Lowe and her reassignment as a "witch hunt," worrying the students will suffer from her departure. A couple criticized Hanks.

"Mrs. Hanks, after talking to several administrators, it is clear your actions call into question your ability to administrate and govern the school district," said another parent, Peter Dittmer, whose seventh-grade son attended the Islamic presentation. "The community is looking to you to step forward and take full responsibility for what happened."

Hanks told the crowd the Islamic group had viewed the incident involving the Muslim student as a "hate crime" and had even reported it to the FBI, although she said she did not believe any form of discrimination against Muslims had occurred.

Hanks also said she allowed Lowe and an assistant superintendent to meet with the Islamic group. But she had not given approval for the group to make a presentation, which included the statement "Allah is God for all human beings" to the student body. She called the Islamic group's presentation "a misunderstanding and miscommunication" that deviated from established policy.
peggy.ohare@chron.com





http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5830406.html

A crime is a crime. The catch 22 of 'hate crimes' is that they can ALWAYS be used against US by people who hate. We must ditch the 'hate crime' labels or we are in for the battle we never bargained for! SOON!