Cinnamon Stillwell has an excellent overview at FrontPage.
Public school children in grades K-12 are being assigned textbooks that misrepresent and, in some cases, glorify Islamic beliefs and history – often at the expense of other religions and cultures. The apologetics and indoctrination common in university Middle East studies programs is being carried into public schools by contentious, ahistorical, and inaccurate textbooks written by those same Middle East studies professors.
Read it all.
Yes, those texts say nothing about conversion by the sword; rather, the conquered were attracted to Islam by its egalitarianism and enlightened government. PIG FODDER!!
This would seem to be a violation of the First Amendment's establishment clause.
ACLU? This would appear to be a tailor made issue for you. Pick up the phone please.
My youngest daughter is a junior in high school, the text books that our school system uses throughout elementary, middle and high school do not sugar coat Islam.
Every year since 9/11 I have closely examined what exactly it says in them about middle eastern religion and culture and frankly they haven't said too much. This years history book has just one page, and it goes more into detail on 9/11 and how the people who perpertrated it were followers of Islam.
Most of our school systems policies and programs of study are listed on their websites, as well as plans to update texts, luckily for us the state has no plans to update books in the recent future... too costly to do so.
I have been lucky, I live in a state where islamic influence is not taken too seriously and our educators are still allowed to have minds of their own. At least for now.
Adolf Hitler quote 101
He alone, who owns the youth, gains the future.
Coming at you from every corner, any angle, clear as day . . .but some simply refuse to acknowledge what they see/hear/witness.
Only 6.5 years after 9/11, and the 9/10 p/c m/c blinders are fully back in place.
How to get religious accommodation in the public school system: a 6-step guide
Whatever Islamic obligation you want accommodated at your child's school, it must be done in a methodical, clear and proper manner.
Shabbir Mansuri is founding director of the Council on Islamic Education in Fountain Valley, California.
He provides tips and advice on how to get religious accommodation for your child.
Step #1: know the laws about religious freedom
Knowing what laws and regulations govern the issue of religious accommodation is crucial before attempting to reach the right authorities. It is also important to understand what is defined as a "reasonable limit" on religious freedom.
See Laws You Need To Know About for the specifics.
In the United States, one of the strongest arguments in favor of seeking religious accommodation for your child is former President Bill Clinton's 1995 statement of principles addressing the extent to which religious expression and activity are permitted in public school. This was given to every school district in the US.
Get the help of other officials if necessary to properly understand these laws. A good place to check with is The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center. They have produced a booklet entitled A Parent's Guide to Religion in the Public Schools. You can call them at (615) 321-9588.
Step #2: get the support of a teacher
"[The first thing I would do is] arm myself with that piece of information and then set up a meeting with the principal of the school along with one of my favorite teachers at the school who will be very supportive, requesting that my son or daughter should be either permitted to [for example] go out to perform Juma prayer at a local Masjid and/or be allowed to perform Juma prayer along with other Muslim students on the school campus," says Mansuri.
Getting the support of a teacher is crucial. It indicates to the principal that the religious accommodation you are seeking will not interfere with your child's performance as a student.
Mansuri says that in most cases, these two steps are all that are needed to get
religious accommodation from your child's school.
However, if the principal refuses to grant the accommodation, step three will be necessary.
Step #3: leave a paper trail, but first, be really nice
"If you find the meeting is not going anywhere then leave a paper trail, meaning, write letters. But before I do that, I would try to do it in a very non-confrontational way by simply sitting down with the principal and a teacher," says Mansuri.
"Try to understand this process where I want to make sure this is not us versus them, but simply the notion of my exercising my constitutional rights in the most respected [way] with compassionate manners, leaving my ‘baseball bat'," he explains, referring to an approach that is harsh and confrontational.
Mansuri even suggests inviting the teacher and principal over for dinner as a gesture of goodwill.
Step #4: writing to the supportive teacher
"My first letter would be to my kid's favorite teacher to ask the person's advice," advises Mansuri. "The letter will be to request to meet with teacher, and it will indicate I want to discuss with you my child's religious needs and I would like to share with you what our president has instructed the teachers and schools to accommodate them." (See a sample letter to the teacher)
Following the meeting, a thank you letter to the teacher should be sent. It will also indicate you would like to set up second meeting with the school's principal, and ask the teacher if s/he would be kind enough to go with you to discuss the topics the two of you talked about in your first meeting (see a sample thank you letter to the teacher).
"This will leave two or three letters," notes Mansuri, but in each letter "the tone of my letter should be my bringing the information as politely as I can. (I am trying to) maintain my rights for the schools to accommodate my child's religious needs. So it's a non-threatening letter."
Step #5: meeting a second time with the principal
Before attending this second meeting with the principal and teacher, "I would also arm myself with the district's education code along with the state educational code as it relates to the topics that I'm going to discuss," says Mansuri.
This can be done by simply calling your district and the state office and asking them to give you the specific educational code that relates to the religious obligation you are seeking accommodation for. That office would fax you the information the same or next day.
Once again, Mansuri stresses that the approach in discussing the matter a second time with the principal should not be confrontational.
"While meeting with the teacher and/or principal, I'm not trying to win an argument by telling them how much I know but rather giving them a very clear understanding that while I understand my rights as a parent, I'm simply there to help them accommodate my child's needs that they are supposed to do anyway," explains Mansuri.
"Make it a win-win situation, not an us versus them situation, and that in itself is the message of Islam."
By this step, Mansuri says your child should have his/her need(s) accommodated.
Step #6: if necessary, repeat these steps with the school district’s superintendent
You can repeat the letters and meet with the school district superintendent if the principal still does not accommodate. The superintendent is responsible for all schools in a particular district. Once again, the approach must remain polite and non-confrontational.
Since the president's instructions were issued to districts, it is possible superintendents may be more familiar with them. This should mean your son or daughter will get religious accommodation with no further problems.
The World Bank has said the quality of education in the Arab world is falling behind other regions and needs urgent reform if it is to tackle unemployment.
In a report, bank officials said Arab states had to make improving education their top priority, because it went hand-in-hand with economic development. The region had not seen the increasing literacy and school enrolment witnessed in Asia and Latin America, they said. Djibouti, Yemen, Iraq and Morocco were ranked the worst educational reformers.
http://illustratedpig.blogspot.com/2008/02/arab-education-falling-behind-by-dale.html
The only place in a school lesson plan for Islam would be as part of a course on The History of Tyranny.
Below is a link to a world history book that (I believe) speaks the justice sought by the pious Mohammed, etc.
If someone wants to do a good in the world, they can spend the hours and hours necessary to get that sort of unbalanced crap out of the schools.
http://www.amazon.com/Glencoe-World-History-Student-McGraw-Hill/dp/0078607027
Eight years ago, I saw the chapter on Islam in my son's 7th grade book. The revised, but still sugar-coated edition (with less Christianity) is now in my youngest son's class room. He hid one of his assignments from me: he outlined his hand, cut out the image, and had to write the five pillars of Islam on the fingers. NO, they don't study the Ten Commandments. Every spring the school has all the seventh graders participate in the "World Expo," each class taking a different culture's commerce, costume and food to prepare. Of course, all the little girls come to school dressed like "Jeannie." I'd like to see them ALL in burqas so they have the experience of what it is really like for women who live in an Islamic theocracy.
Some of the things that really bother me: 1)These textbooks are mandated by the State of California, 2) they don't teach the advancement of the Five Caliphs and what became of the Christians they conquered, 3) they don't teach the Jizya, 4) that Christians had to wear specific clothing and if they donned even a fez they were considered to have accepted Islam -- and had to become Muslim or die, 5) if they knew anything about Islam -- the five pillars, a prayer, or a sura -- they were considered to have accepted Islam and had a choice of Islam or death. These ignorant teachers do not realize that the very classwork and homework they assign is designed to create a defacto apostate group, subject to Sharia. It is bizarre.
Some parents in individual communities have tried to protest, but their school boards have made them pariahs. Nationally organized education and resistence is what is needed. I tried talking to our teachers, our principals, and school board members, and wrote to the publisher. One voice doesn't get a lot of response.