More on a story we reported here, from Alexis Amory in FrontPage, with thanks to Ali Dashti:
Coming soon to an elementary school near you: mandatory indoctrination in Islamic customs and practices. According to The Kansas City Star, third-, fourth- and fifth-graders in Herndon, Virginia, are to be given lessons in the three Rs: Reading, “˜Riting, and Ramadan. During this instruction, public school children will play act being Muslims, and, perhaps unwittingly, convert to Islam.
Pupils from a nearby Muslim school will visit classes in the town’s public schools to educate their counterparts in Islam. They will be accompanied by something called “a multicultural trainer” named Afeefa Syeed.
In Herndon, during this month of Ramadan (which began Friday), there will be explanations of the fasting month and “role-playing” that requires students to recite Muslim sacred words and imitate their prayer practices. However, whether the speaker understands what he is saying or not, one is considered to have converted to Islam if he confesses a belief in Allah — and this conversion is considered irrevocable. The penalty for apostasy (and much else, from adultery, to homosexuality, to dating anyone in the Islamic world aside from the intended partner of arranged marriages, often made between first cousins) is death.
Multicultural trainer Syeed explains, “For teachers and administrators, as well as fellow students, explaining Ramadan helps the school accommodate the religious requirements of the holiday.” Why American children should be strong-armed into imposing “the religious requirements of the holiday” for proselytizing Muslims isn’t addressed. Neither do authorities explain why Islamic prayers have suddenly become part of the curriculum for children attending American public (e.g., non-sectarian) schools, while discussions of Christianity are ruled off limits.
The Star also reports, “The Council on Islamic Education, a nonprofit organization based in California, plans to release an updated version of its booklet “˜Muslim Holidays,” which was first published in 1997, for the more than 4,000 teachers nationwide who have used it.”
With Ramadan taking place this month, many schools are arranging for Muslim students to sit in the library during lunchtime so they won’t be forced to be around food. (“See how special and holy Ahmad is? He is purifying himself for religion through fasting. Isn’t that lovely, boys and girls?”)
The Kansas City Star quotes the multicultural specialist Syeed, who also uses a globe in her presentation to show students that Muslims live all over the world, as saying her lesson plan “˜The Seven S’s of Ramadan” highlights aspects of Islam that children of other faith backgrounds can relate to, like patience, peace and gratitude. “It’s really just to define who we are on our own terms” Syeed says, “and make the connection with a much larger, universal aspect.”