Amid the Perry camp’s patent dishonesty over what exactly the content of the curriculum really is, and brusque dismissal and ad hominem attacks against those who dare to raise questions about it, it is good to see former Congressman Tom Tancredo seeing things more clearly and confronting the problem more honestly. “Governor Perry”s Muslim blind spot,” by Tom Tancredo in the Daily Caller, September 27:
[…] Perry”s connections to Muslim groups in Texas are well documented. A recent Christian Science Monitor story said, “Perry has attended a number of Ismaili events in Texas, brokered a few agreements between the state and Ismailis (including the legislation introducing Islamic curricula into Texas schools), and even laid the first brick at the groundbreaking ceremony for an Ismaili worship center in Plano in 2005.”
The Muslim Histories and Cultures (MHC) project was formalized in 2004 in a signed agreement between the University of Texas at Austin and Aga Khan University in Pakistan. The announcement of the MHC project credited Gov. Perry by name with being “instrumental” in its launch.
The agreement calls for an extensive program of bi-cultural teacher training funded jointly by both parties. More than 200 Texas teachers have been trained in the program, which is ongoing. The project’s curriculum units were initially available for viewing on the university”s website, but have since been scrubbed from the Internet. It appears Texas officials do not want the curriculum examined by Texas taxpayers.
Islam scholar Robert Spencer, head of Jihad Watch, examined the program and concluded, “The curriculum is a complete whitewash and it’s got the endorsement of Perry. It’s not going to give you any idea why people are waging jihad against the West “” it’s only going to make you think that the real problem is “˜Islamophobia.–
Perhaps Spencer exaggerates the curriculum’s bias? Examine it for yourself here.
Perry”s close ties to Muslim groups led the political blog Salon to headline a recent story: “Rick Perry: The pro-Sharia candidate?” Evidence in support of that theme comes from Gov. Perry”s refusal to support legislation sponsored by Texas Republican legislators to outlaw Sharia law in Texas.
Perry”s close alliances with pro-Islamic Republican activists like Grover Norquist give additional cause for concern. Norquist supports open borders and amnesty for illegal aliens and is well known in Washington, D.C. circles for his tireless efforts to build Republican bridges to pro-amnesty groups and to slander advocates of immigration enforcement as “racists.” Norquist also has close ties to the Council of American Islamic Relations (CAIR), whose Houston chapter bragged in a recent newsletter that “Rick Perry”s relationship with Muslims may set him apart.” Precisely so, but not in a way that helped him with voters in the Florida straw poll….