Parents in Byron, Calif., are outraged that government schools are forcing their children to learn the tenets of Islam, adopt a Muslim name, wear a robe and even stage their own jihad ("holy war").
Complaints to their taxpayer-supported principal were brushed off, ASSIST News Service reports.
"The public schools in California so stealthily slipped this course into the 7th grade curriculum that even another 7th grade teacher, Elizabeth Christina Lemings, was totally in the dark that this was being taught until her son, Joseph, who is a 7th grader in the same school where she teaches, brought home the handouts," ANS reported.
"We could never teach Christianity like this, Lemings told ANS. "We cant even mention the name of Jesus in the public schools, but over there , she pointed to the building next to hers, "they teach Islam as the true religion, and students are taught about Islam and how to pray to Allah.
California's government schools have adopted the textbook used for the Islamic course, "Across The Centuries," published by Houghton-Mifflin (Boston). Islam is shown in a totally positive manner, whereas everything Christian is depicted negatively, says ANS.
In contrast, "There is not one negative to be found about Islam in this one-sided account, such as the wars, massacres, cruelties against Christians and other non-Muslims that Islam has consistently perpetrated over the centuries.
"Nor is any mention made of the way Muslims treat their own people, cutting off hands, feet and heads for even the slightest violations of the Islamic tenets of faith, or the shocking way they treat their women.
"The miraculous events leading up to the Koran, the holy book of Islam, and other revelations are presented as factual. Any reference of the miraculous regarding Christianity is always set next to a disclaimer stating that; 'It was (is) believed by Christians (or an individual such as Martin Luther) that ,' implying an absence of credibility about the stated event," ANS reports.
As Lemings put it: "Can you imagine the barrage of lawsuits and problems we would have from the ACLU if Christianity were taught in the public schools, and if we tried to teach about the contributions of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the Apostle Paul? But when it comes to furthering the Islamic religion in the public schools, there is not one word from the ACLU, People For The American Way or anybody else. This is hypocrisy!
ANS reported, "Even more disturbing; students are to pretend that they are Muslims, wear Muslim clothing to school, stage their own jihad via a dice game, and pick out a Muslim name (to replace their own) from a list of thirty."
Every pupil questioned by ANS thought the brainwashing course "was fun. Some described Islam as "a pretty culture.
Lemings told ANS: "This is not just a history class examining culture. This course is entirely too specific. It is more about indoctrination.
First, it intimates, but does not show, that the course being discussed is taught state-wide. I doubt that it is.
Second, the offhand manner in which it dismisses the ACLU--who most certainly would freak if such a thing were to be brought to their attention, is indicative of certain conservative biases, that attempt to take cheap shots at particular groups regardless of the content of the actual story.
Yeah, it's wrong, but it doesn't seem to be state-wide. And it's no worse than teaching "creationism" in schools, either, or mandating prayer time.
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
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Azizza had this to say about (_|_):
Parents in Byron, Calif., are outraged that government schools are forcing their children to learn the tenets of Islam, adopt a Muslim name, wear a robe and even stage their own jihad ("holy war").Complaints to their taxpayer-supported principal were brushed off, ASSIST News Service reports.
Gee, your source isn't biased is it? I mean, it's just a right-wing propaganda source, after all...
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Azizza had this to say about (_|_):
Every pupil questioned by ANS thought the brainwashing course "was fun. Some described Islam as "a pretty culture.
And here's the problem. Radical Christians are upset that their children are being enlightened to other beliefs in the world, and they're learning they're not all bad.
Heck, the bias in this "article" is obvious in the fact that in that last paragraph they refer to it as a "brainwashing course".
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Azizza had this to say about (_|_):
Lemings told ANS: "This is not just a history class examining culture. This course is entirely too specific. It is more about indoctrination.
Hardly. We studied various cultures with some amount of detail when I was in school. Considering that a very good portion of the population of the planet is Muslim, and Islam is a large part of the reason for most of the recent world-changing history, I don't think it's all that unusual that they're teaching about it in schools.
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Drysart wrote this stupid crap:
[QB]Gee, your source isn't biased is it? I mean, it's just a right-wing propaganda source, after all...QB]
Kind of like CNN is a Left wing Propaganda Source huh.
There is a distinct difference between Teaching something and going entirly to far with how it.
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Bloodsage had this to say about Punky Brewster:
That hardly reads as an unbiased news source.First, it intimates, but does not show, that the course being discussed is taught state-wide. I doubt that it is.
Second, the offhand manner in which it dismisses the ACLU--who most certainly would freak if such a thing were to be brought to their attention, is indicative of certain conservative biases, that attempt to take cheap shots at particular groups regardless of the content of the actual story.
Yeah, it's wrong, but it doesn't seem to be state-wide. And it's no worse than teaching "creationism" in schools, either, or mandating prayer time.
The ACLU is notorious for picking and choosing what it decides to bitch about.
And yes while the story is written a bit... Hmm can't think of a good word. But you know what I mean, it still gets the point across. I normally see a lot of news stories here that are not picked up on others for a few days at least.
Making the kiddies wear robes and adopt another name isn't. Unless it's for fun and learning purposes and they're not FORCED to wear it, all is well.
Though I'll be truly satisfied when I see other religions portrayed that way, too.
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Azizza had this to say about Captain Planet:
Kind of like CNN is a Left wing Propaganda Source huh.
The same CNN that took a lot of heat for sensationalizing the Clinton sex scandals? The same CNN that thrives (and in fact gained its popularity and proved itself) on war coverage?
Oh yeah, that's real hardcore left wing stuff there, I see what you mean. Fucking tree hugging liberals are always going after Clinton and playing up wars as the coolest thing ever. Just yesterday I saw a Volkswagen bus full of longhairs in tie dye shirts had a cardboard sign with black magic marker writing in their back window that said "AFGHANASTAN OR BUST! FUCK THOSE ARABS!"
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Azizza had this to say about Captain Planet:
There is a distinct difference between Teaching something and going entirly to far with how it.
There's also a distinct difference between an article composed completely of heresy, that tells only one side of the story without even mentioning that they bothered to attempt to contact anyone on the other side for some, you know, facts, and balanced, unbiased, trustworthy reporting.
EDIT : Cruel is the wrong word. I guess I'm just trying to say, that I've noticed many, many more arguments from Azizza lately, as stated later. I guess I don't mean to start a flame war, is the general Idea I meant there. [ 01-14-2002: Message edited by: Khyron ]
[ 01-14-2002: Message edited by: Ezvien ]
Is the problem that the class is studying Islam, and that it's not made out ot be the world's greatest evil? Or is the problem that it's coming during the war in Afghanistan?
If it's the first, that Islam is portrayed as being not so bad...well...time to get your head out of the toilet. Fact is that Islam is an admirable religion. In the Dark Ages it embraced math and science when Christianity said it was Satanic. It's inspired all sorts of creations of art and architecture. It's holy book is meant to be sung and not read, and when sung properly is a beautiful thing. Yes anyone can point to "this person lost his hands for repeated stealing" or "This man was beheaded for rape" and cast a finger. But in most Islamic countries, they're coming out of the backwater. Women can have education now, and jobs. I'd rather my child be able to look at the good things about a religion or culture and realistically contrast those with the bad things than wait for the majority to tell them who the new bad guy is.
And if it's the second issue, that is to say, if it's a matter of you don't think it's appropriate to teach a child about this sort of thing now, during hostilities with an Moslem nation...Man I hope you aren't pissed because of that. First off, teachers have to lock in the general direction and overview of their curriculum at the beginning of the year, and nothing short of an act of the School Board can change it. Doesn't matter if the teacher's dead; the replacement teacher has to pick up and move on, possibly with their own style. Likewise, the class needs exposure to the cultures. You can't sweep one under the rug because it's not popular. You can't maintain a Eurocentric direction in the class. News flash: WE ALL KNOW HOW EUROCENTRIC HISTORY WORKS! we get inundated with it from the moment we step into school, right through til we finish college. It's a shame Islam wasn't covered before 9/11, but look at the date. September 11. Most of the school year is still ahead. Yeesh.
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
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Azizza had this to say about Pirotess:
The ACLU is notorious for picking and choosing what it decides to bitch about.
Yeah. Fucking liberal commie pinko bastards. How dare they defend the Bill of Rights?
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Azizza had this to say about Tron:
No Drysart they defend whatever they feel like defending. Where are they about the RKBA or no knock police raids??
The ACLU stays neutral on gun control issues (neither for, nor against; which some people ignorantly twist into saying that they're pro gun control) because there's a very real, very vague, very subjective line there because of a rather unclear definition in the second amendment -- and the NRA is fighting that battle quite handily already.
The ACLU has supported court cases against no knock police raids as a violation of the fourth amendment.
However I do still view the ACLU in a very dim light. The cases they do take seem to be extreme. Such as the case of making a school in California(I think) remove all references from christmas from it's calanders. Etc, etc.
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Originally posted by Drysart:
Gee, your source isn't biased is it?
Said the pot to the kettle 
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Azizza had this to say about Punky Brewster:
However I do still view the ACLU in a very dim light. The cases they do take seem to be extreme. Such as the case of making a school in California(I think) remove all references from christmas from it's calanders. Etc, etc.
The ACLU (apparently) never even took the Newton County school board to court over that. They raised protest after a board member made the comment that "This is a Christian country and it is founded on Christian values with God in mind. 'Winter holidays' came as a result of political correctness." when they voted to change the existing "Winter Holidays" into "Christmas Holidays". There was no ambiguity that the change from the previously non-religious term was made for religious reasons, and that's what the ACLU protested.
After doing a few searches, the most I can find is that some Christian news sites say the ACLU "forced" the school board to change it "under pressure". There's also no news anywhere I can find that says there was a lawsuit about it at all.
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Maradön? had this to say about Robocop:
Said the pot to the kettle
Sure linking to the ACLU's own press release isn't the most impartial source, but I was having trouble finding a good article about it elsewhere. (Must be that liberal media, I tell ya...)
So perhaps there's a bit of their spin on it, but it's still grounded in fact. The ACLU does go to court to defend private citizen's rights to support their religions, and they do go to court to fight against unlawful police raids. The bias doesn't reek nearly as much as an article from an unabashedly Christian slanted news services (they call themselves Assist Ministries, for example) that has no hard facts and the worst they're able to come up with is the horrible, horrible crime that their children think Islam is "a pretty culture". [ 01-14-2002: Message edited by: Drysart ]
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Drysart won the prize for funniest typo with this gem:
There's also a distinct difference between an article composed completely of heresy . . . .
Sorry, man, but given the subject at hand, that's hilarious. 
Methinks you meant "hearsay."
The above post was HUMOR. If your panties get in a bunch, see a doctor, but don't whine here. 
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
which, last i heard, were Nihillistic.
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Bloodsage had this to say about (_|_):
Sorry, man, but given the subject at hand, that's hilarious.
Oops.
Uhmm.. that was.. uh.. a sly attempt at subtle humor.. yeah, that's it.
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Drysart had this to say about dark elf butts:
Oops.Uhmm.. that was.. uh.. a sly attempt at subtle humor.. yeah, that's it.
Hmm who else thinks drysar is just going into withdraws and needs his fix?
*hands Drysart a free pass to the Maidens Fancy*
[ 01-14-2002: Message edited by: Azizza ]
Edit: Bah UBB pwnes me
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Drysart made me spit Code Red when he wrote:
Oh yeah, that's real hardcore left wing stuff there, I see what you mean. Fucking tree hugging liberals are always going after Clinton and playing up wars as the coolest thing ever. Just yesterday I saw a Volkswagen bus full of longhairs in tie dye shirts had a cardboard sign with black magic marker writing in their back window that said "AFGHANASTAN OR BUST! FUCK THOSE ARABS!"
CHRISTIANITY MIGHT NOT BE THE ONLY THING!!! HOW EVIL!!!
That article is full of incredible stupidity.
[ 01-14-2002: Message edited by: Pvednes Phoenixfeather ]
It's not the fact that students are told about other religions, it's that they're taking that "telling" way too far.
Now, maybe if they did Shintoism, Christianity, Judaism and other religions, then it'd be fine. But come on, this teacher has GOT to have some kind of common sense (no wait, coming from the Land of Fruits and Nuts, the state that outlawed smoking in your OWN resteraunt and on the streets...that's saying too much)
Oh, and Drysart, CNN USED to be REAALY left wing, but, ever since Fox News came out, they've lost a hell of a lot of viewers due to the fact that Fox News IS balanced, so CNN got some Conservatives on their team, and are much more balanced now. This Article Explains that a little
I'd also like to know how you got under the impression that CNN "sensationalized" the Clinton Sex Scandal.
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And I was all like 'Oh yeah?' and Pvednes Phoenixfeather was all like:
Mhmm. So, crazed fanatical parents are upset that their OWN CHILDREN are taught how other religions work. Oh, the horror.CHRISTIANITY MIGHT NOT BE THE ONLY THING!!! HOW EVIL!!!
That article is full of incredible stupidity.
THe point is not that they are being taught other religions. The point is that they are being taught a religion even though:
1. Any other religion would be defcried in the papers and the ACLU would already have a mob with torches in front of the school.
2. They are being made to take an active role in the religion. Dressing up, taking on name, etc. (this could also be seen as an insult to Islam)
3. They are being taught like Jihad is a good thing. Hmm Oh kay... NO I don't think so.
4. This is a public school. Supposedly teachin any religion is a bad thing. Yet they are pushing Islam pretty heavy here.
I called my friend Kathy on my lunch break. SHe is a teacher and I had hoped she knew something about this. She has heard a bit. Supposedly there is a lot of hell being raised behind closed doors about it and some heads are rolling. She is going to try to find out details for me though.
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The Otaku Penguin had this to say about (_|_):
It's not the fact that students are told about other religions, it's that they're taking that "telling" way too far.Now, maybe if they did Shintoism, Christianity, Judaism and other religions, then it'd be fine. But come on, this teacher has GOT to have some kind of common sense (no wait, coming from the Land of Fruits and Nuts, the state that outlawed smoking in your OWN resteraunt and on the streets...that's saying too much)
...
...
...
You can go to hell.
This seems to be the latter, and I fail to see how it's a bad thing. Perhaps it was taken too far, but perhaps an obviously biased news source is being alarmist. Hard to tell.
Governor's School--a five-week summer academic/cultural program for the gifted--in Arkansas was shut down just a few years after I attended. The complaint? Parents just like those screaming in your article complained that "children were being taught to think for themselves." Yes, that's a quote.
Isn't it horrible when we teach people, especially kids, about various things and let them make up their own minds?
Oh, the humanity!
--Satan, quoted by John Milton
Sigh...
I think this is a knee jerk reaction by religious right fanatics, who are in many ways just as bad as their counterparts in Islam.
Right now, childern need to be taught that Islam is at it's core a peaceful religion. History has taught us that if propaganda isn't tempted with fact that childern grow up biased by the views that the media. It happened after World War II, when parents and schools were still flooded with anti Japanese propaganda left over from the war. To this day my father will never buy a japanese product or even consider Asian Americans as even human, all because "those dirty Nips killed my buddies dads."
This is further complicated because in order to study Middle Eastern Culture, you must take into consideration that their religion is their culture, you cannot seperate the two. The article in question is obiviously biased in nasty way, as it wants the public school system to protray Islam as a violent religion of heathens and barbarians. It's doubtful that the students were being pushed to convert to Islam, more likely they were experiementing with Islamic culture, and that alone was probably more than enough to stir up the Religious Right.
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And I was all like 'Oh yeah?' and Kegwen Tabibito was all like:
OP -- you're saying that the preconceptions about foriegn religions that many students have are okay? Many see Islam as an opposing army of hatemongering Satan-lovers. Maybe it was a little extreme to act out the 'jihad', but that doesn't mean the fucking world is ending just because these kids are furthering their knowledge through creative methods.Sigh...
You're missing the point, the point is that they're doing this with only ONE religion. That's the whole thing.
I'm really fucking tired of the complete indifference that America has been trying to achieve. Ono! We can't do this because it might offend somebody! Can't have that! We have to please everybody! Sure, public schools shouldn't teach that any one religion is true, but they also shouldn't completely ignore educating the kids about something as major as the Islamic faith.
Ill agree with TD and Blood on this one.
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Azizza had this to say about Reading Rainbow:
But where are the teachins about Bhudism, Christianity, Hindu teachings, etc, etc. I don't see them.
They are in the advanced classes, which I took part in alot of, at public schools.
In.. I think it was ninth grade, our Impact(advanced) class all took semester long classes on one of the big religions. Each class took a different one, at the end of the school year we had to present a report on the history of our chosen religion to the other classes.
I wish I could remember something I learned in that class, but it's been too long.
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Kegwen Tabibito had this to say about pies:
It's not like they're converting the kids, damnit. 'Jihad' doesn't directly translate into Holy War, that's simply the simplest explanation. I'm not saying that said jihads are good, but I'm also refusing to say that teaching what they did the way they did is wrong...I'm really fucking tired of the complete indifference that America has been trying to achieve. Ono! We can't do this because it might offend somebody! Can't have that! We have to please everybody! Sure, public schools shouldn't teach that any one religion is true, but they also shouldn't completely ignore educating the kids about something as major as the Islamic faith.
I'm GLAD they're teaching kids this, I'm NOT glad that they're JUST teaching it about Islam!
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Azizza had this to say about Robocop:
But where are the teachins about Bhudism, Christianity, Hindu teachings, etc, etc. I don't see them.
My class was convinced that my history teacher in 9th grade had practiced every one of the major religions... then again, I go to a private school...a private CHRISTIAN school at that.
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Kegwen Tabibito had this to say about John Romero:
My class was convinced that my history teacher in 9th grade had practiced every one of the major religions... then again, I go to a private school...a private CHRISTIAN school at that.
Same here. I went to a Private Chatholic school and we had classes on ALL of the major religions of the world. WE focused ont he good and the bad, even of Catholosim (crusades anyone?)
