Posted on 10/10/2004 6:07:29 AM PDT by tdewey10
Posted on Sat, Oct. 09, 2004
Teaching Ramadan in public schools
Accurate lessons in demand after 9/11
By HOLLY LEBOWITZ ROSSI
Religion News Service
During the next few weeks, multicultural trainer Afeefa Syeed will bring third-, fourth- and fifth-grade students from a Muslim academy in Herndon, Va., to nearby public schools to share the practices and beliefs of their holiest month, Ramadan.
Syeed and the children will present the call to prayer in Arabic, display prayer rugs and offer tastes of dates. In countless other classrooms across the country, similar efforts will be made to educate students about the time of fasting and spiritual reflection for adherents of the world's second-largest religion.
Ramadan, which likely will begin Oct. 15, depending on the sighting of the new moon, is making more appearances in public school classrooms, thanks to a series of new teacher training initiatives, an increased fascination with Islam and the assurance that schools, if careful, can educate impressionable children about religion without crossing a constitutional line.
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.
The booklet, which contains lesson plan ideas and historical and cultural background on Ramadan and other Muslim holidays, also outlines the various state regulations governing instruction about religion in public schools and discusses accommodations that schools can make to enable Muslim students to observe the holiday.
Muslim educators note tremendous progress in education about Ramadan and Islam in general in public schools, particularly since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 — perpetrated by extremist Muslims — brought Islam into the national spotlight.
Another reason for this success, some say, is an increased general awareness in public education circles of what is constitutionally appropriate to teach about religion.
In 1995, President Clinton released “Religious Expression in Public Schools: A Statement of Principles,” guidelines on promoting the free exercise of religion in schools without endorsing a particular faith. The Freedom Forum First Amendment Center in Arlington, Va., subsequently launched a series of training initiatives to remind public school officials nationwide of the regulations concerning religion in schools.
Unlike the political situation, which has become divisive in some ways, “the educational arena came out unscathed” by increased attention on Islam since Sept. 11, said Shabbir Mansuri, founding director of the Council on Islamic Education.
Whereas Ramadan used to garner only cursory attention from public school teachers, Muslim education consultants say, interest in deeper understanding of the holiday has spiked.
“They want to know accurate information,” said Sharifa Alkhateeb, president of the Washington-based Muslim Education Council.
For teachers and administrators, as well as fellow students, explaining Ramadan helps the school accommodate the religious requirements of the holiday.
For example, at puberty, children begin to participate in the daily fast, which lasts from sunrise to sundown each day of the month. Many schools arrange for Muslim students to sit in the library during lunchtime so that they are not surrounded by food as they fast.
Educators cite Ramadan as a good opportunity to teach students about Islam and its practice. But teaching Ramadan in public schools has not been without controversy. Last year a federal judge said that the Byron Union School District in California could continue a three-week curriculum that emphasized role-playing exercises requiring, among other things, seventh-grade students to recite Muslim prayers.
Despite the ruling in the district's favor, the school suspended the program because of the outcry the lawsuit spawned.
Crucial to avoiding these kinds of problems, say educators, is understanding the difference between “teaching” and “teaching about” religion.
Role-playing exercises that require students to recite sacred words or imitate Muslim prayer practices simply are not appropriate.
“It is a wonderful method in teaching history, but when it comes to religion, we will have to modify it a bit,” Mansuri said.
Syeed, who also uses a globe in her presentation to show students that Muslims live all over the world, says 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 and make the connection with a much larger, universal aspect,” she said.
Re: Taqiyya
Survellance for a hostage taking and murder mission?
But Taqiyya applies to deceiving the non Muslim about Islam and the true life and thoughts of the Muslim community. For instance when Muslims insisting that Jihad means inner struggle and that Osama Bin Ladin's terrorism is not a Jihad. Two years ago a Muslim student gave an address at Harvard graduation that the true meaning of Jihad is inner struggle. This is a lie. Jihad also has a true meaning of aggressive warfare.
Taqiyya
Taqiyya. In Islamic law and tradition, Taqiyya is the dissimulation of
one s religious beliefs to non-Muslims. It is most often ...
www.fact-index.com/t/ta/taqiyya.html - 6k -
bump to me for later.
http://biblia.com/islam/islam.htm
Good article on Islam, worth the time.
If it's not possible for Christianity, it certainly isn't possible for a movement which seriously can be challenged as being a religion at all.
If I had school-age children, I would challenge this in the loudest and most serious way. I would particularly identify who was the genius who came up with the idea. And if passing the buck becomes the answer, go as far up in state government as necessary until the moron is found.
That is a good point, I think they should teach about all those things.
great. rewarding and encouraging horrible behavior.
Outstanding post. True, too.
"Educators cite Ramadan as a good opportunity to teach students about Islam and its practice. But teaching Ramadan in public schools has not been without controversy. Last year a federal judge said that the Byron Union School District in California could continue a three-week curriculum that emphasized role-playing exercises requiring, among other things, seventh-grade students to recite Muslim prayers.
Despite the ruling in the district's favor, the school suspended the program because of the outcry the lawsuit spawned."
_______
Even though a jerky judge saw nothing wrong with the course, there was such an outcry that the school decided to discontinue the course. That means that parents and taxpayers certainly can influence what the schools teach their kids, because if it doesn't meet with the approval of parents and taxpayers, there will be hell to pay and screw the courts.
Thanks CB
"I also think a lot of leftists hope that if the Jihadists win, they will cut them some slack rather than cutting their throats because the left sided with the Jihadists and made their victory possible."
Not in their wildest dreams. Jihadists will say as they slit the throats of their useful idiots, "So long sucker!"
"Two years ago a Muslim student gave an address at Harvard graduation that the true meaning of Jihad is inner struggle. This is a lie. Jihad also has a true meaning of aggressive warfare."
Oh charming, American colleges are educating future Jihadist women beating rulers. Lets celebrate...(slathered in sarcasm)
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