This is the school district that was first going to axe Christmas and Halloween observances for fear of offending Muslims -- jello is right out also, since it contains pork products. With the school district already 30% Muslim, you can be sure that these demands for accommodation will only increase in number and urgency.
"Ramadan added to school's holidays: Dozens turn out in Oak Lawn to hear debate over religion," by Jo Napolitano for the Chicago Tribune:
Dozens of parents said at an Oak Lawn school board meeting Tuesday night that while they're happy to have a student body of varying religions, they want to keep celebrating what they say are traditional American holidays and customs.That doesn't mean they aren't open to observing other religions' holidays, the parents told the Ridgeland School District 122 board, which was looking at its policies concerning religious teachings and observances. At issue is whether Christian holidays, such as Christmas, should be celebrated now that Muslim children make up about 30 percent of district pupils.
After meeting for 2 1/2 hours in a closed session, board members decided to keep the district's Christmas and Halloween parties and add a Ramadan celebration.
The debate, which has raged in the community for weeks, was sparked by a parent, Elizabeth Zahdan, who asked that stars and moons be displayed in schools in honor of Ramadan. She was denied and told that schools couldn't partake in religious celebrations.
"I want everyone to be equally acknowledged. I never demanded that no one can celebrate. I never said take Christmas away," Zahdan said at the meeting before the board went into a closed session..
Supt. Tom Smyth said Zahdan raised the issue of fairness.
"This thing has gotten so big that the board needs to know the legalities of the separation of church and state and its policies about teaching religion in school," he said before the meeting.
"If you look at our policy, you either teach about all religions in school or remain neutral," Smyth said. "According to our policy, we are to maintain a climate of neutrality within the classroom. We cannot give preference to one religion over another."
Resident Bryan Schapiro argued that long-standing traditions are under attack.
"For a number of years now I've seen something change every year because it goes against Muslim beliefs," Schapiro said. "Traditions that have been beloved by children in America for centuries are now being taken away little by little because the Muslims want the school day, menu and social traditions tailored to their needs."...
Bernard Beck, sociology professor emeritus at Northwestern University, said such problems are common in areas of demographic shifts.
"When you get changes in society or in the population, it creates new situations," he said. "What people are used to and take for granted suddenly comes into question."
He said religious tolerance in America is constantly being renegotiated.
"America has been trying to get along on the basis of a bargain, saying, 'We're all basically the same.' But more recently, the message is, 'We're not all the same. Not all religions have the same message.'"
Indeed they don't.
Dr. Beck (I assume a doctorate in socialogy) says that "We're not all the same. Not all religions have the same message."
Okay, maybe a good start. But maybe if he knew the true meaning of the stars and moon symbols for Ramadan, perhaps one dot might connect to another dot, then another, then another...
Nah, I didn't think so. But if the school district should continue to accommodate the Muslims, then let's not forget the Hindu, Buddhist, et al, holidays.
I attended a US high school in a predominantly Jewish city (Newton, Massachusetts). I never heard of any proposals to make the cafeteria a pork-free zone. I hear more about the peanut-butter-free zone proposals to accomodate the few children that are allergic to peanuts.
Thirty years ago, the Newton schools did not give days off for Jewish holidays but attendance was low on Rosh Hoshanah and Yom Kippur.
They banned Christian and Jewish prayer in US public schools about 40 years ago. Whey should they accomodate Muslim prayer rituals? Good example of Dhimmitude in the USA.
Halloween and Thanksgiving and July 4 are national holidays. Christmas may be a religious holiday, but it has also taken on the character of a national holiday, and language to that effect can be found in the Pawtucket creche case, Lynch v. Donnelly. A private school, provided there is no discernible action, can do what it wants. There are private Muslim schools.
Those who do not believe in pluralism, whose canonical texts tell Believers, as the immutable Word of God, they "must not take Christians and Jews as friends" and have a great deal more that disturbs to say about the relation of Believers to Infidels (that cannot be overlooked and that cannot be evaded or elided by those smiling imams and other apologists) have no business invoking, disingenuously, the doctrine of "pluralism" to help them along in their aim which, if it succeeds, would relegate non-Muslims to a permanent status of dhimmi, one requiring humiliation, degradation, and physical insecurity. Those who invoke the very things that they most despise and which, under their dominance, would not last for even a minute, need to be subject to closer examination.
In that school district, for example, the protesting parents should do more than protest. They should locate the passages in the Qur'an and stories in the Hadith that make clear how central, in Islam, is the permanent division between Believers and Infidels. Every such moment should be an occasion for investigation, study, and widespread discussion and distribution of the disturbing facts. And this should never stop, should never let up. If Muslims realize that their every demand will only lead to a far greater number of Infidels finding out about Islam -- but not in the way Believers would like -- that may make some, here and there, hesitate.
The more push-back there is, the less, rather than the more, demanding, Muslims will become. They have a keen sense of these things, and will know when they have overstepped. Monitoring the reaction of non-Muslims to Muslim behavior is something they are well-versed in; after all, until they can achieve that dominance --and at this moment they constitute only 1% of the American population -- they will have to watch it. And they will.
"According to our policy, we are to maintain a climate of neutrality within the classroom. We cannot give preference to one religion over another."
Why, America is a Christian country, it's traditions should be Christian."
Isn't there one Sikh, or Hindu in the school, don't they deserve a holiday?
"Traditions ... are now being taken away little by little because the Muslims want the school day, menu and social traditions tailored to their needs."
More accurately, " ... tailored to their wants."
How does one observe Ramadan secularly?
Hugh-
I think you forgot a "not" in:
"...must not take Jews and Christians as friends..."
A thorny knot in Islamic dogma for these puerile "pluralists".
What are the moon and starts supposed to represent anyway? Muslims always say they don't pray to the moon. And there is no significance to the night or nighttime. Even though the cresent moon is on top of mosques.
Ibn Warraw said that Allah is the moon god, redone for Mohamad. If it is not a moon god, then why the moon and stars?
What people/country decorate for Ramadan anyway? Isn't Ramadan for fasting? Does that need decoration?
"I think you forgot a "not" in:
'...must not take Jews and Christians as friends...'"
-- from a careful poster above
You are right. And the worst of it is, I did this once before, you know. I was living in London at the time (the time being 1631), quietly earning my daily bread as a printer, and I published a Bible in which I left out the word "not" in a critical place, thus producing a Bible with a Seventh Commandment that read "Thou shalt commit adultery." Well, was I embarrassed. And the king was furious. Well, the rest is history, and I high-tailed it on over here, missing the Mayflower by a lot, and the Arbella by a little, but booking passage on the very next ship to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. I shared a table at dinner with the wife of Richard Saltonstall, who had gone over earlier to Boston on that aforementioned Arbella. Charming lady, and a bit of a flirt.
If you want to know more about that Biblical faux-pas, simply google "The Wicked Bible" and "Hugh Fitzgerald." Of course I changed a few names to protect the guilty.
Thank god for websites where, if you have access to its innards, you can return to the scene of the crime and put that necessary "not" back in. And Ihanks to you, I will now do so.
I wonder how many of these accommodationists realize that Ramadan is does not occur at the same time every year?
what will happen when Ramadan occurs during summer vacation? will the school district have to provide a celebration during the school year?
If schools are an extention of our government... and there is suppose to be this "wall of separation" between gov. and religion.... then why the hell can't we get mail on Sundays? Who do these guys think they're trying to fool? No Government employee should ever be afforded any time off for any religious holiday. EVER... period! Every government job, office, post, what have you should be open for business 7 days a week! It should cut both ways. Respect no religion! Get crackin' you gov./naves! You work for ME, bitch!
Hugh-
Was that the notorious "Vinegar" Bible you had a not so fortuitous hand in?
As they say in the p's & q's biz:
"Festina lente"
Christian and Jewish parents can say "ok" no religion in schools .
.That means no foot baths, no Islamic prayer time, no special treatment for the hungry fasting children during Ramadan,no head scarfs. ect..
JUST SAY NO to f'in Dhimmitude!
Have private parties for the children each year at different parent’s homes, exclude the Muslim children.
"Traditions ... are now being taken away little by little because the Muslims want the school day, menu and social traditions tailored to their needs."
More accurately, " ... tailored to their wants."
Posted by: jay
More accurately, "...shoved down our throats."
If one ideology receives special treatment, then all must. The only solution is to disallow all religious observations or celebrations in schools, government offices, public buildings etc.
What a grey and dull winter it will be.
I never really believed that evil existed. Not really. At least not until 9/11. Over the last few years I have come to know evil quite well. It exists. It is real. It is Islam.
Keep your children far, far away from evil.
Unfreakinreal - God Bless this country we really need it. Wake up folks we can vote these people out. Take action now! It all starts locally.
What about Yom Kippur?
Just doing some thinking....
How does one observe Ramadan secularly?
Posted by: CapitalistGig
By killing 'infidels' of course..! LOL
This is unbelievable and ridiculous. Schools never worried about pork products around Jewish kids...why for Muslims? As far as I'm concerned, it's the parents' responsibility to ensure that their child doesn't eat food items that are not allowed for reasons of health, religion, or anything else. The public schools are not in the business of tailoring lunches for every potential variation. If someone can't deal with it, well, send lunch from home or put your kid in private school.
And, in regard to accommodating prayer requirements, BUNK...Christians have been told they cannot pray out loud in public schools, even in the lunchroom. Jewish children are not let out of school early on Fridays in winter so that they are home before sundown and the start of the sabbath.
Everyone is SO afraid of being called Islamophobic (there's a phobia for every PC thing these days), that they twist and bend and give up freedoms in order to accommodate the PC and not be thought of as "intolerant" (unlike the Muslims who happily are intolerant of any other religion).
Ah, but baseballmaven:
I was just in a school last week where a teacher was assigned to supervise muslim children who were fasting during lunchtime. The teacher was not allowed to bring any food, drink (including water) gum, etc. into the room during this period.
The children in this district (and probably others)bring prayer rugs to school which don't fit into their lockers. The school is looking into special lockers which accommodate these rugs. It's an issue of which many residents are not even aware. Apparently these rugs can be costly, and the school has been asked if the district's insurance will cover replacement of any lost or stolen prayer rugs.
I believe most people who work in this district (it is one of the highest tax bases in the midwest) are multicultural fanatics, or have become used to this situation. When outsiders such as myself see these things, we are stupefied.
The accommodations which have been granted to Muslims for their RELIGIOUS PRACTICES DURING THE SCHOOL DAY are unprecedented. Many parents object when they learn but are unwilling to challenge the status quo. Even if one believes that Islam is a bona-fide religion (and I don't), the case can be made that public schools are not the proper venue for taxpayer-funded accommodations to any religion. The muslims say they welcome the accommodation of other faiths. And of course many want prayer back in schools. Having prayer in schools is a double-edged sword.
If prayer is not allowed in public schools, why is there any need to bring these rugs to school?
OMGNowWhat
Exactly my sentiments. Apparently some prayer is allowed and protected--and some prayer is not. The school authorities believe:
a) Islam is a religion
b) Islam requires prayer 5 times daily
c) not allowing prayer at school or obstructing dietary adherances is equivalent to persecution.
I have seen many posts on this site advising that the prayers do not have to be spaced out through the day. Look, these schools seem to fear some sort of legal reprisal. I believe the legal reprisal should be welcomed, and as Hugh pointed out, we should attend and bring the Qu'ran for some selected reaading.