In Maryland, several years ago, a high school teacher taught her students about Islam. Not all agreed with what, or how, she taught. One student’s family sued. The case is wending its way to the Supreme Court, where it will undoubtedly be heard.
According to CBN News:
Four years ago, a Christian high school junior was compelled by her teacher at La Plata High School in La Plata, Md., to recall the Islamic conversion creed – the Shahada – as part of a written assignment. She was required to write the Islamic conversion creed, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”
Comment:
It is one thing to tell students in a unit on Islam what the Shahada says, and to explain that mere recital of the Shahada is enough for someone to be converted to Islam. But by requiring her students to write out the Shahada, the teacher is confusing them: have they, the students may wonder, in some sense “converted to Islam”? What is the effect on young and impressionable students, of being required to write out this conversion creed? Do they think: “Well, that wasn’t so bad. It was kinda fun. Jeez, I could be a Muslim right now, if I wanted.” Are they being inveigled into somehow assenting to its content, or will they take the task as simple role-playing, make-believe which no one could possibly object to?
The World History course also taught that ‘Most Muslims’ faith is stronger than the average Christian’s.
This statement is unacceptable on two grounds. First, this is not a fact but an opinion– that the faith of Muslims is “stronger” — offered by a public school teacher to her credulous students. This is a remark that clearly favors one religion, Islam, over another, Christianity, and thus violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. Had that teacher said that “the faith of Christians is stronger than that of Muslims” we can be certain that CAIR, the ACLU, and the Southern Poverty Law Center would have come down on that teacher, and the school system, like a ton of bricks.
A second objection to that remark about the greater strength of Muslims’ faith, is that no evidence is presented as to its truth. How could the teacher conceivably claim that the faith of most Muslims is “stronger” than that of the average Christian? How can this possibly be measured? Clearly, the students in La Plata are meant to admire the religion that, they are told, commands the stronger faith. There are two billion Christians and 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. How was this factoid about the comparative strength of belief arrived at? Is a Muslim willing to die as a “martyr”while engaged in Jihad evidence of an admirably stronger faith, or of a terrifyingly twisted one? If the teacher relied on a poll for this assertion, what kind of questions were asked to ascertain the “strength” of a faith? Does a Muslim who says his five daily prayers “stronger” in his faith than the Christian who regularly attends church on Sundays? Both are fulfilling their respective duties. Is a Muslim “stronger” in his faith if he is willing to kill and to be killed for it? Perhaps what Muslims are here being praised for — this greater “strength” of their faith — is reason, rather, to deplore and fear them. Or are such value judgments about religions simply impermissible?
What if that statement about the “strength” of belief were rephrased for accuracy: “Many Muslims have a fanatical faith that Christians can only marvel and shudder at, and that has led some, as we know, to commit acts of violent Jihad, including suicide bombings, that testify to the strength of their faith.” It is impossible to imagine that a public school teacher would ever dare to utter such a statement, however accurate it may be.
Caleigh Wood [the girl whose family is suing] refused to complete the assignment,[writing out the Shahada], believing that it is a sin to profess by word or in writing, that there is any other god except the Christian God.School officials refused to let her opt out of the course and as a result, she received a lower percentage grade for the course, but that did not affect her[overall?} letter grade.
School officials ought to have punished not the pupil, Caleigh Wood, but the teacher, as well as anyone higher up in the school system who may have had a hand in creating the classroom content on Islam. They need a refresher course in the meaning, and application, of the Establishment Clause. As public school employees, they are not allowed to favor one religion over another. Or do they not realize that they have been favoring Islam?
The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) on behalf of the Wood family filed a lawsuit, claiming the school had violated the First Amendment Establishment Clause and the girl’s right not to be forced to profess faith in another religion. Both the Federal District Court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the high school’s Islamic curriculum.
Now, the TMLC has appealed the case to the Supreme Court, asking the high court to decide whether any legal basis exists to allow public schools to discriminate against Christianity while at the same time promoting Islam.
Comment:
It’s hard to believe that both the Federal District Court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the school. Fortunately, an appeal to the Supreme Court will be made and there, given its current makeup, it is almost certain that the appeal by the Thomas More Law Center, claiming that the behavior of school authorities violated the Establishment Clause, will prevail.
Under the guise of teaching history or social studies, public schools across America are promoting the religion of Islam in ways that would never be tolerated for Christianity or any other religion,” TMLC President and Chief Counsel Richard Thompson said in a statement. “I’m not aware of any school which has forced a Muslim student to write the Lord’s Prayer or John 3:16: ‘For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’
That is an unanswerable objection.
Jim Austin says
Doesn’t separation of church and state apply to mosque and state?
Becky says
Separation of church and state means that government cannot designate an official religion. By promoting it in public schools, I’d say this is a violation.
eduardo odraude says
Strictly speaking, I’d say state schools are themselves a violation of the First Amendment. The state should not control any aspect of schooling, curricula, testing, teacher certification or teachre hiring. The state can fund poor families to go to a school of a family’s choice. The state should not decide which school a family may choose. The state should not be forming minds Educational freedom is inseparable from religion freedom, freedom of expression, and freedom of conscience.
Rev. G says
We could also end up in a discussion of the incorporation arguments, since the 1st amendment is very specific in its mention of Congress alone.
pfwag says
In Islam there is no separation of church and state and sharia is a higher law than any state law and the country’s Constitution.
J D.S says
What the west seems not to understand is this…. is lam is Islam and Muslim belief is only sanctioned by these three things FORCE, FEAR and the APOSTATE LAW..without these three islam would vanish into history..Think on it…these three things, from it’s beginning, well maybe it’s Medina beginning,, has held Islam in place these many centuries. Their allah is the God if fear and hate and of course is a false sexual God.(72 virgins)..The God of Jews and Christians and really the God if all is a loving, forgiving God, Thanks to the blood she’d by Jesus Christ.
dsr says
There is no such thing as a separation between church and state. read your USA Constitution. It says something along the line of no one religion shall be the dominate religion over another religion within the USA. Our Fore Fathers knew the koran and what it meant. That is why it is written the way it was written.
I’d LOVE for one of them to challenge me on the street. How can you have muhammad who is the messenger of Allah marry’s a 6 year old girl and fucks her at the age of 9 years old. That is a sexual predator, not a messenger. muslims are full of shit.
Wayne says
dsr …
You should refresh yourself with the First Amendment.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution reads: ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof … ‘
‘… respecting an establishment of religion …’
That is called separation, has nothing to do with domination of one over the other.
PRCS says
+1
Michael Copeland says
Muslims adhere to their faith because they are killed if they do not.
“If they had gotten rid of the punishment [death] for apostasy Islam would not exist today” –
Yusuf al Qaradawi
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/3572/islam-apostasy-death
Buraq says
Everyone should learn the anti-Shahada! Repeat this 5 times a day, every day!
I don’t believe in Allah because He was invented by a desert warlord. Also, I don’t believe Muhamed can be a prophet of Allah, because Allah doesn’t exist in the first place. In a nutshell, I wasn’t born yesterday!
Ashley says
LOVE your comments here, Buraq.
But you failed to post your signature line…
Clowns! 🙂
Westman says
Maryland is the 3rd most liberal US state so the lower courts ignoring the separation of church and state, in a bias toward favoring Islam, is a logical extension. It’s also doubtful that any judges actually understood the import of writing or speaking the Shahada.
In America, written pledges are more legally binding than verbal pledges. What if the teacher was a Muslim? Would that witness make these children Muslims in Islam’s eyes?
That a Christian school could be so flippant in requiring students to write the Shahada points to a very shallow understanding of world-level Islam, the non-linear trigger action of the Shahada, and the corporal death penalty for apostacy.
Wakeup call coming at the SCOTUS.
jarmanray says
Westman,
It is ironic that if this case is similar to the 1963 case where the Warren court ruled against Christianity by denying the right of school led prayers in public schools. Madalyn Murray O’Hare, who lived in the Baltimore area sued the local school district, Abington School District v. Schempp, in 1963 and now the chance to use the far left Warren decision to protect Christians from Muslim loving school officials. Can you imagine the uproar if the students were forced to write and later recite the “Lord’s Prayer?
Wayne says
Westman …
It is Christians that are bringing these Christian/Jew/atheist hating moslems into the west.
joanofark06 says
Would you mind giving some evidence/links of that? If you wanna throw Trump in there, then your wrong, because no matter what he says, he’s a liar-in-chief. I have archived so many articles, and even videos, of him saying he hasn’t done anything to be forgiven for, or can’t remember asking for forgiveness….and THAT is NOT what a Christian would say! God said that NO ONE is free from sin. WE ALL need forgiveness! WE ALL are sinners! And if I must bring in more evidence, that he’s not a Christian, he celebrated another people’s “god”, when he hosted a ramadan dinner IN the White House, last year! And I can tell you verses, where that is WRONG too! But yes, he is guilty of bringing in more muzlims by the thousands, into this country. I archived articles about that TOO!
So speak up….I’m curious of who you’re talking about!
Jane says
Hmm, I remember a time when Obama bowed to a Muslim. I also recall Obama stating that he was a Muslim. He loved Muslims & pandered to them. However, I failed to “archive” any of these instances. Does that mean they never happened? You need to stop obsessing over President Trump & get yourself a life!
PRCS says
“Would that witness make these children Muslims in Islam’s eyes?”
In countries where Islamic law is THE law. perhaps.
But the U.S. is not governed by Islamic law—yet.
To the best of my knowledge, no Muslim/Muslim organization has–publicly–stoned an apostate in this country so far.
I’m amazed at the hypocrisy of Muslims in the West–protected from the full implementation of Islamic law by secular, man-made laws–who promote ‘World Hijab Day’.
thebigW says
that ain’t hypocrisy, that’s deceit, planning and building for the day in the future when there’ll be enough of descendants here to destroy our society through rampant violence. could be 100 years from now, but we’re fools if we don’t think that’s what they’re doin’.
eduardo odraude says
The teacher should have said “Is ‘stronger” the right word to describe the Muslim faith? Or should it rather be described as ‘more fanatical, authoritarian, totalitarian’?”
Paul Bunting says
There is an almost identical case in Chatham, NJ. Any information on the status?
As of late last year, a federal judge ordered the complaint to trial after the school
district tried to get it dismissed.
gravenimage says
Glad other parents are fighting back.
joanofark06 says
I’ve been archiving everything about islam/muslim since 9/11, and believe me, this is happening all around our country, in many schools! It’s sickening! What sayeth Trump, since he’s the one that picks the Sec of Education? Notta! Or at least, I’m still waiting…
ploome says
What is most shocking s how corrupt and biased our court system has become.
gravenimage says
How not to teach Islam in a Maryland high school (Part I)
……………….
Yes–this is essentially Da’wa.
And having the students profess the Shehada *is* having them convert to Islam–this is exactly how one converts to Islam.
Now, few of these students will take this seriously, but this has problems of its own, since anyone who leaves Islam may be killed.
And the claim that Muslims have stronger faith than do Christians is just appalling. What yardstick is being used here–that they are more likely to murder for their creed?
David says
By all means let islam be taught. By that I mean the truth about the teachings of the Koran, (109 verses of Hate)and all about muhammad, and his disgusting life style.
joanofark06 says
Sounds like a great idea, but then satan starts whispering in your ear, the more someone learns about islam, and taking it to heart, and then maybe, they’ll see all the killings and bombings around the world, and think that’s islam, and feel like it’s THEIR right to kill others now.
With a person, who has no love in their heart and soul, or someone that isn’t dedicated to any or other religion, this is a welcome mat for satan. I’ve always felt, that the more someone reads the koran, the more evil they become. There’s only 109 verses in there, that say to kill the unbeliever…I call it “satan’s bible”
gravenimage says
Robert Spencer has learned a lot about Islam, and he doesn’t as a result want to go out and murder people–nor does Hugh Fitzgerald, who is an atheist. I don’t want to act like a Jihadist, either–instead, I want to oppose Islam.
I’ve read the Qur’an now in five different translations, along with the Hadith and Sira. I do this in order to be informed about what we are facing–not because I like anything about these disgusting texts.
Lydia Church says
Funny how the establishment clause works in a biased way…
when it is supposed to protect Christianity or allow for its promotion, it is totally impotent.
But when it is supposed to guard against Christianity (so to speak) or protect other ideologies, practices, and interests or agendas…
suddenly it kicks into high gear operation!
As Christians, we just keep on obeying God above man when there is a contradiction, whether we get persecuted for that or not.
Lydia Church says
Like I say…
you can’t force anyone to do anything without their consent!
Alarmed Pig Farmer says
The case is wending its way to the Supreme Court, where it will undoubtedly be heard.
My guess is that SCOTUS will decline to hear the case. That, of course, they will do so as to avoid having the facts of Islam introduced as evidence. For 1,400 yrs now Islam has avoided going on the official record, and this is no time to start with that kinda stuff.
Bill says
Relax folks, the ACLU is all over this.
UNCLE VLADDI says
This is so simple even a leftist can (but probably won’t want to) get it:
Muhammad rode around Arabia robbing enslaving and murdering people for “disbelieving” in his “unknown and unknowable god.”
HOW THE HELL CAN ANYONE “BELIEVE” IN AN “UNKNOWABLE” GOD?!
If and when you claim your god is unknowable, you’re the one who is limiting it’s ability to explain itself! You’re the one who is basically saying it doesn’t exist! You’re the one saying that your “god” isn’t a personal or compassionate one, but is one which either can’t or chooses not to relate to its subjects! You’re the atheist, and your version of a ‘god’ doesn’t exist!
The rest of the illiterate ancient Arabs should have caught on right there, but didn’t.
When your ‘god’ is really only generally “everything!” then it’s also only specifically NOTHING!
Existentialism IS nihilism!
CASE CLOSED!
…….
Islam has nothing to do with religious “faith” – all muslims are basically atheists because they have absolutely zero faith in their own god’s ability or willingness to do anything to enforce even it’s own desired will on the world; in stead, they claim it “permits” the muslims to do Muhammad’s wet-work for it. And as islam has no concern for “spiritual” matters separate from the secular (there’s no separation of mosque and state) nor for an afterlife beyond a crude depiction of a celestial bordello, it’s also an example of secular atheism. Beyond all that, islam is nothing more than another typical criminals’ “inevitable force” alibi to excuse their own criminal desires and actions; i.e: “The Allah Made Me Do It!” Like Muhammad, they insist that, if they get away with what would otherwise be defined as a crime (attacking thereby innocent other people first) then, since “allah” obviously meant for them to get away with it, it really can’t have been a crime at all! Whee! In short, this article is mistaken, in that muslims have no more faith than the leftists who help to enable islam.
Wayne says
Christians and moslems have many things in common, one is their intense hatred of atheists, which for Christians goes against the teachings of the one leg of the trinity, a kindlier man than they, known as Jesus.
joanofark06 says
Wow! You know soooo much about “christians” and muzlims! I don’t know who you learned christianity from, but they made you an idiot…or you’ve hung around the WRONG kind of people, who TOLD you, they were “christians”.
Just remember something, satan showed that he is an “angel of light”….
the “god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)
And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works (2 Corinthians 11:13-15)
So if you ever see this “angel of light”, will you be amazed, follow it, worship it? If you don’t the real “God”, sadly you will…
gravenimage says
Wayne, I have never met a Christian who hates Atheists.
We have to stand together against the threat of Islam.
Carol the 1st says
Good description, Vladdi…Allah is a big nothing with a pack of adjectives thrown at him for camouflage and obscurantism. Does anyone really buy that muslims prostrate themselves before this amalgam of a “god” out of something called “love”?
Allah brings to mind nothing so much as the slithery talents of an eight-armed octopus with its “alien intelligence”. Strip off the slime and the creature is in deep trouble.
Ken Olson says
Ban the Muslim Brotherhood
joanofark06 says
Yeah, I wonder what happened to that! I archived that news, where Trump was going to designate them as a terrorist group, but I couldn’t find it, but all anyone has to do is put “trump and muslim brotherhood” in their search box, and everyone has an article on it! I wonder if Trump changed his mind, or put it on the back burner….it should of BEEN done….like YESTERDAY!! Just one of many things, that burns me up about Trump!
Trump weighs labeling Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist group
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-muslimbrotherhood-idUSKCN1S6159
Paul J says
Trump is ONE man against a whole city of corrupt self serving scum. WTF do you expect him to do by himself. Hmm.
Rose Keeling says
PARENTS U NEED TO KNOW EXACTLY WHAT U’R/OUR CHILDREN ARE BEING TAUGHT! WAKE UP AMERICA! ITS LONG OVER DUE TIME TO TAKE OUR COUTRY BACK AND NOW!!!
Carol the 1st says
Politesse and compromise is likely to rule where schoolchildren are involved. Strip the classroom of deliberate, insidious brainwashing and da’wah. Calmly arm, instruct, and guide your children at home as firmly, carefully, and wisely as you can. Islam will attempt to mine this gateway to the hilt.
Lorraine E Blazich says
Almighty God has to be watching as our country is becoming more and more like the end times Babylon. There is an ongoing genocide of innocent unborn babies, aborted baby parts are being sold for profit, every type of sexual perversion is being promoted, money received by those profiting from pedophilia composes half of the income for our country’s black budget, worship of satan is increasing, teaching the muslim religion in government schools is increasing while Christianity is being banned. God has to be very angry when he sees what is happening in our country and He hears the cries of innocent children who are being molested and murdered and sooner or later we are all going to feel His wrath.
underbed cat says
What is up with Maryland and the coordinated efforts to settle Pakistani families…Somali, etc. and now allow teachers to teach Islam in public schools..that is the direction by those who want Islamic settlements for the next sharia law government.? Who provides the visa’s….. and makes the arrangements and has the power to do so ? The goal to take down America and replace it with the Islamic Republic of North America? I agree Carol the !st. Islam and it’s power players will “mine this gateway to the hilt”. Civilization jihad.