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Canada isn't the only ones that don't get it. This is our own Atlanta, GA.

http://www.lauramansfield.com/j/smalltownusa-4.asp

Vacation Bible School is a rite of summer throughout the American southeast. In the Bible Belt of the deep south, a couple of weeks after school lets out, the elementary school aged kids flock to their churches for a week of Bible Stories, crafts, and fun.

It’s changed a little since I was a child; some churches now schedule the sessions in the evenings to accommodate working parents. The curriculum has been jazzed up a little, and often they have themes like and even mascots. But for the most part, Vacation Bible School is still the same thing that many of us experienced as children.

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You probably wouldn’t be surprised to hear that there is an Islamic equivalent.

I had the opportunity to spend an evening last week at one of these sessions, and I was amazed at what is being taught in this country to children between the ages of 5 and 10. The differences between a Vacation Bible School and the Islamic Summer Study Week were apparent from the moment I entered the door, starting with the dress code.

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The youngsters at this Atlanta-area Islamic Center were required to wear Islamic dress, even though the air conditioning was only functioning at a minimal level and the temperature during the days rose into the high 80’s. The boys were clearly more comfortable that the girls; they wore navy pants, and white t-shirts or white polo shirts. Some of the boys wore longer, knee-length navy shorts.

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I expressed surprise that the young girls especially were willing to wear the hijab, and the director suggested I ask some of the kids to explain their reasons.

Selwa, a cute little five year old with blonde curls escaping from under the headscarf to frame her face, told me “I like to wear it. My mommy wears it too.” I asked her what she liked about it. Her blue eyes were wide as she exclaimed “Cause then bad men won’t kidnap me and hurt me.”

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She told the kids how to determine when it was appropriate to shout “Allah Akbar”: intimes of great joy, when someone is martyred, or when the Zionists or Kafirs are attacked. She introduced a video, in Arabic, showing scenes from the West Bank, and told the kids to shout “Allah Akbar” when they thought they should.

The kids quickly got the message that when something blew up, or an Israeli soldier was shot that they should shout Allah Akbar. I expressed my concern to Tiffani about children so young being exposed to such violent scenes. Tiffani/Amina assured me that the kids had been watching similar videos since they were two years old, and that they weren’t disturbed in the slightest by them.

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Sure enough the boys were playing jihad. While I watched from the sidelines, the boys drew lots to see who would act as the American airplane. The loser had to pretend he was an American airplane flying around, and then the other boys pretended to attack it by throwing Nerf balls. The “airplane” fell to the ground, and the other boys pounced on it. The “airplane” turned into a pilot and the boys “captured” him. They stood him against a wall, and formed a pretend firing squad. Instead of toy guns, the boys used their multifunctional Nerf balls to execute their prisoner, all the while yelling “Allah Akbar”.

The male teachers, most of whom were in their twenties, stood over at the side of the playground talking to each other, not paying any attention to the activities in which their students were engaged.

I noticed one boy standing over not to far from where I was standing, holding a box against his face. He appeared to be watching the other boys intently. I asked him, in English, what he was doing.

His answer? “I’m the camera man. I’m taping them.”

(more at link)