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"A federal judge has ruled that a California school district didn't violate the Constitution when it taught seventh-graders about Islam." This from AP, with thanks to nicolei.
"Parents who sued the Byron Union School District said students were required to participate in role-playing. It included wearing Muslim clothing, saying Islamic prayers and giving up candy for a day to demonstrate the principle of daytime fasting during Ramadan.
"Critics said the lessons crossed the line between instruction and indoctrination.
School officials said parents were given the option of not having their children participate.
"Federal Judge Phyllis Hamilton found that there was no evidence that students were doing activities with devotional or religious intent.
"But the plaintiffs' attorney says the ruling reveals 'a double standard when you're dealing with religious issues in public schools -- one for Christians and one for all the other faiths.'"
I was an expert witness in this case, and will be bringing you much more information about it as circumstances allow.
Posted by Robert at December 12, 2003 11:39 AM
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Time to start role playing stories about Jesus Christ.
Posted by: D.White at December 12, 2003 12:49 PMTime for Christian parents to make a mass exodus out of public schools. They're a cesspool, and all the lawsuits in the world aren't going to change it.
Posted by: donna at December 12, 2003 2:21 PMI just don't get understand the judicial system on this. What happened to separation of state and church! I wonder how fast a lawsuit would be filed and won if they had of "role played" and said The Lords Prayer, and had communion afterwards! This should be taken all the way to the Supreme Court!
Posted by: Colin at December 12, 2003 3:03 PMBet they didn't teach the kids about Jihad or Dhimmitude, or that the 4th graders were old enough to be the 'Prophets' wife.
The presence of Islam in the classroom doesn't freak me out so much as the roleplaying. Really, though, I wouldn't sue over it if the kids didn't have to participate. I would've talked to the teachers--education is one thing and this is something else entirely.
I'd be great if the government would discriminate so much against Christianity and Judaism, especially Christianity. I WOULD like to see what would happen if the class was asked to repeat the Shema or the Lord's Prayer!
Posted by: Daniel at December 12, 2003 5:07 PMOh, sorry I forgot, but in response to Donna, this is exactly why Christians SHOULD STAY in public schools! Retreat never works--do you think the Amish have an impact on anyone? Educate your children and prepare them to be influential in the schools--be influential yourself, as well--lest the "cesspool" that is the public school system spill over into the rest of nation. Wait, it already has. I should say, "spill more rapidly."
Posted by: Daniel at December 12, 2003 5:10 PMOh, the teachers' unions teach "about" Christianity. Try and find a public high school student who hasn't been taught about the Crusades (of course not mentioning just how the Muslims got to Europe), the Inquisition and the Salem Witch Trials. Who hasn't been assigned "The Scarlet Letter." In other words, only negative things about the faith are taught, and those opportunities are never overlooked.
Fight for vouchers, so we can get more private schools to put children in. This is the only way to force the liberals out of their monopoly, and end their dumbing-down and political indoctrination of our youth. And they won't just be funding religious schools (though most Christian and Jewish schools are very good), but secular schools that somehow manage to give children facts, skills and the ability to reason during their twelve year stay.
Let this be one lesson among hundreds: Never take your eyes off the courts, and who's doing the appointing of what kind of judges.
Posted by: Model4 at December 12, 2003 7:10 PMChildren aren't a pawn in some grandiose game. The public school system can't be saved, and it is quite selfish for Bible believing people to subject their children to it just so they can feel better about "making the system better". Retreat would be just the opposite...keeping one's children there. But then again, most truly conservative bible believers are pulling their kids out of the cesspool in droves for Christian schools and home-schooling, and tests show their kids flourish because of it.
Posted by: donna at December 12, 2003 8:52 PMI think this is the same judge:
Judges Prevent Partial Birth Abortion Ban from Taking Effect
http://www.reclaimamerica.org/Pages/NEWS/newspage.asp?story=1447
What's the problem? I'm sure next fall the same school will close the cafeteria for a day so the kids can feel what it's like to fast on Yom Kippur. Maybe they'll pass out wafers and wine so the kids can role play taking communion--purely to understand the Catholic experience, of course.
Posted by: Alex Bensky at December 12, 2003 11:19 PMThat'd be about enough to make me send my kid in the next day all dressed up as Richard I.
Posted by: niall at December 13, 2003 9:15 AMThe operative sentence is "federal judge has ruled that a California". That means this judge was 9th circuit. Which further means that this judge has pass rulings barring the pledge of allegiance, and the right to vote within just this year. Strangely enough she ruled to bar the pledge for including the word "God" which is clearly about separation. Apparently the word "Allah" is more palatable for her.
Rest assured she is not the arbitor of justice in the land.
Ah, so it's the Ninth CIRCUS Court of Appeals again....
Posted by: Macker at December 13, 2003 7:23 PMVouchers are not the answer. They would go to Muslims too -- in effect asking the US taxpayer to subsidize the growth of madrassahs.
No thanks.
Posted by: Susan at December 17, 2003 11:18 AM
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