I was an expert witness for the plaintiffs in this case -- seems like many years ago now. I have wanted to write about it but it just doesn't end. From AgapePress, with thanks to Cindy:
(AgapePress) - A federal appeals court is being asked to reconsider its ruling that allows public schools to teach junior high students how to "become Muslims." The Thomas More Law Center, a national public-interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, is asking the entire Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to rule on what can be done in public schools with regard to teaching Islam and other religions.Several parents sued California's Byron Union School District for requiring their 7th-grade children to participate in a three-week class activity in which they not only had to study important Islamic figures and wear traditional Muslim attire, but were also required to observe the "five pillars" of the Islamic faith, adopt Muslim names, recite a portion of a Muslim prayer, and even stage their own "jihad" or "holy war." The plaintiffs' attorney, the Thomas More Law Center's Ed White, believes the school district violated the parents' and children's constitutional rights to free exercise of religion.
Earlier, White had asked a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit to overturn a previous San Francisco federal district court's ruling that the Byron Union School District did not violate the U.S. Constitution. However, the Ninth Circuit panel of judges upheld the lower court's determination in a brief, unpublished memorandum decision.
In that ruling, however, the panel overlooked and failed to rule on the plaintiff's claims that their free exercise and parental rights had been violated. The Thomas More Law Center has asked the three-judge panel to reconsider their decision and to issue a ruling on the claims not previously addressed. The Law Center has also asked all 24 active judges on the Ninth Circuit to consider and rule on the case....
White has filed a petition for a rehearing of the case before the entire Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Chief counsel Richard Thompson says the appellate court needs to clarify in a published opinion just how far public schools can go in teaching about religion.
Soviet schools taught children to do all kinds of things in support of the reigning orthodoxy. One was to turn in all those whom the little schoolgirls in braids, and the boys in their caps, were heard making anti-Soviet remarks. Thus the famous story of Pavel Morozov, who turned in his own parents for punishment. There used to be statues to him everywhere; I saw one myself.
Now some schools have taken it upon themselves to teach another kind of orthodoxy, and that orthodoxy appears to be that which will encourage a false and dangerous -- because utterly misleading -- view of Islam. And if done at an early age, it have an effect.
This kind of propaganda, even if undertaken only by those who are hideously naive (and so a menace to the rest of us, who may have to pay the civilizational price for the naivete and received ideas -- "all religions are good" or "all people want the same thing" or "if only we understand each other there will be no wars" or "(fill in here the stupidity of your choice)"--of others.
I don't want to pay for the stupidity of others. I've already given -- at the office, the university, every damn place. I'm tired of it.
It's astonishing this has gone on for so long. To me it's a clearcut case of religious indoctrination, which is totally inappropriate. Do they have equivalent "Become a Jew" courses? Or "Become a Hindu" course?
Is there nothing more appropriate they can teach kids these days without delving into preaching a religion? I wonder if those kids can spell and calculate well and accurately? Or will they leave high school barely able to put together a proper sentence or calculate the area of a room, but totally versed in a whitewashed, filtered, airy-fairy version of Islam? Yeah, that should be good for their job/tertiary education prospects.
What ever happened to the "separation of church and state" stuff that california is so famous for? This looks to me to be a "state" sponsored indoctrination of school children into the cult of islam that would be in violation of the "separation clause" so highly touted by the 9th Circuit Court.
Yes indeed, if the ninth court will stick to its guns on the establishment clause, then all is well. If, however, they decide to make multi-culti nice, "special rules for special people" will become the law of the land only until the Supreme court hears it.
This seems like a great test case.
Ah, so now Islam is a religion? You can't have it both ways.
the Ninth Circus Court is at it again. You can't pray in school, but you can wage jihad in school. No Bibles allowed, but the koran is excepted. What ever happened to that seperation of church and state that the liberals are always screaming about? It still applies. This is mosque and state. Big difference. Thank you Ninth Circus Court for clearing that up.
The Council on Islamic Education has been very active in the Islamification of the schools in California. The CIE Guide is one dangerous book and is available for infidel scrutiny in public libraries all over the United States.
"Ah, so now Islam is a religion? You can't have it both ways."
-- Posted by Dr. Pepper
You're right, Doc. If the globo-socialist teachers in Cal would only teach Islam as the aggressor political ideology it is, I'd take that.
HARVARD TREASON GEORGETOWN TREASON USC TREASON COLUMBIA TREASON
Hypocrisy doesn't need to be balanced. It in fact needs to be the opposite.
Okay, one more time for the slow kids in class, Dr. Pepper, are you listening? What I originally said, is that Islam is a materialistic religion and does not fit in "the box" of our western preconceived notions of what religion is and is not. For the West, religion is otherworldly, for Muslims it is all about this world up to and including political domination - I call that materialism at its nadir. Materialism as religion.
Islam ain't no religion.
A true religion operates between the individual person and the cosmos. Islam's field of operation is between the individual infidel and his infidel religion.
And for the Moslem? As has been proven time and again, Islam offers NOTHING metaphysical for the Moslem. Yeah, sure, it offers the conquest and the party violence and the booty and the Jihad-rape and the sex slave and the pedophilia, but that's all physical, not metaphysical.
In a matter of speaking, Islam is an invasive procedure, and a radical one at that.
What is really needed here is a "separation of mosque and state". Even better: "separation of Islam and Western civilisation".