School for Scandal (Californial Public Schools Teaching Islam)

From Snopes.com, the best urban legends site on the Internet. I rely on this site for debunking or confirming various stories I've heard around the 'Net. I've never been able to tell what their politics are. However, all those "objective" journalists out there could take a lesson from this site.

In any case, here is their commentary on the scandal involving teaching Islam in the California public schools.... It's not quite as bad as it's been reported, but there are some major problems with what's happening.

"Not quite" on the Snope.com review. Perhaps listening to children in the Seventh grade who are interviewed, and teachers who teach from a text book would convince these "arbiters of truth" -- but there are major problems and the "rebuttals" above are only partially informed. No site has a lock on truth. You have to go out there and find it. You can see a lot just by looking. I wouldn't take snopes.com as final; they are just as fallible.

Required to learn the tenants of Islam, the important figures of Islam, but not forced to pray to Allah or become Islamic?

There is a distiction here but not much of a difference.

Public Schools Embrace Teaching Islam

As children return to school this week, following the Christmas break, 7th graders in a growing number of public schools, who are not permitted to wear a cross or speak the name of Jesus, will be required to attend an intensive three week course on Islam; a course in which students are mandated to learn the tenets of Islam, study the important figures of the faith, wear a robe, adopt a Muslim name and stage their own Jihad.

In Byron, California, parents were outraged when students came home with their handouts and were told what was being taught. Their complaints to the school principal not only were ignored, but officials of this public school, funded by tax dollars, essentially fluffed them off.

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.

“We could never teach Christianity like this,” Lemings said to ANS during an on-site interview. “We can’t 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.”

Lemings, in her second year of teaching in the Byron (Northern California) Union School District, has been a Christian since 1987. The government school system requires that she teach evolution in her science class with no reference to creationism or any contrasting viewpoint to Darwin’s theory. She quickly learned that God and Christianity are out (forbidden) but that Islam is in.

The textbook used for the Islamic course, Across The Centuries, is published by Houghton-Mifflin (Boston, Ma.). It is described as a Social Studies/History book and has been adopted by the California School System.

In it, Islam is presented broadly in a totally positive manner, whereas the restricted references to Christianity, is centered on The Reformation, Martin Luther and The Catholic Church. Everything Christian is shown in a negative light, with events such as the Inquisition, the Salem witch-hunts, etc. highlighted in bold, black type.

This is proper for a complete study of history. However, 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.

For example, the representation that Gabriel the archangel came to Muhammad (Note: not believed to have come to Muhammad) and dictated to him the Koran, a whole new revelation and idea that would surpass all other religions.

What needs to be explained by the Houghton-Mifflin historians, is why Gabriel (which translates, “Man of God”), the archangel of both Christians and Jews, who was a part of all of God’s plan, who interpreted for Daniel the vision of the ram and the he-goat, and comforted him after his prayer with the prophecy of the ‘seventy weeks’ and who heralded the good tidings by declaring the coming of the predicted Messiah, would at that point in time and history, call on Muhammad, one who did not believe in Jehovah God or Jesus as the Son of God, and ‘reveal’ to him the words of the pagan god Allah to lead his people with. How’s that again?

It would be most interesting to have the Houghton-Mifflin experts explain what possessed Gabriel to turn on the God of Abraham and Jesus Christ to lend assistance to what would become a murderous cult with no regard for life, the very antithesis of Christianity. There is a deplorable lack of information here.

And too, the Book of Revelation clearly states that no words should be added or taken away from that book. So this in itself poses a major contradiction and problem.

The faulty textbook, Across the Centuries, has more than its share of deceit. It is stated as fact that Islam, Judaism and Christianity share in common the belief in one god. This is a half- truth, which is the worst kind of lie. Christianity and Judaism worship one God, the God of Abraham. Islam worships one god named Allah. This hook is misleading on the part of Houghton-Mifflin. The publisher apparently is attempting to legitimize Islam.

If this were an authentic history, the textbook would explain that the god of Muhammad was man’s creation. Arabia was a pagan nation that worshiped over 300 gods. One of those was the moon god named, al-ilah. Legend has it that the moon god mated with the sun god and had two daughters, both of whom were worshiped as goddesses. When Muhammad claimed to have had his ‘vision’ and ‘revelation from Gabriel’ he chose
al-ilah as the god to build his army around.

Muhammad shortened the name, al-ilah, to, Allah, and declared that he alone should be worshiped. He forbade the worship of the daughters. To this day, a crescent moon can be found at the front of every mosque, acknowledging that Allah was, and is the moon god. All of this is missing from the Houghton-Mifflin accounts.

It is also to be noted, even though not publicized, that Allah is also known as, The God of War. So why isn’t this important study of Islam included in the history books?

The handouts used in this course, obtained by ANS, are considerable. They include a history of Islam and the life of Muhammad its founder.

Muhammad is portrayed as an extremely moral man who wanted a society of purity. A vast body of historical accounts will refute this image. Historians will show that he had multiple wives, a sexual problem, and among his wives, he took a 10-year-old girl for his pleasure (some accounts list her age as 6).

And Islam promises its followers that those who become suicide bombers, killing themselves and others, will go directly to Allah’s paradise where they will be given 72 virgins for unbridled sexual pleasure for all of eternity.

There are many verses in the Koran that must be memorized in this Public School course and students are taught to pray, “in the name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful” and to chant, “Praise to Allah, Lord of Creation.”

There are 25 Islamic terms that must be memorized, six Islamic (Arabic) phrases, 20 Islamic Proverbs to learn along with the Five Pillars of Faith and 10 key Islamic prophets and disciples to be studied.

“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?” teacher Elizabeth Lemings lamented. “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!”

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.

ANS asked some of the students what they thought about this course. All of them felt that “it was fun,” while others described Islam as “a pretty culture.” This included a pastor’s son! Joseph Lemings, 12, said, “the Jihad was like playing a video game,” even though the true violent nature of Jihad was well concealed.

Lemings is disturbed by the “fun” description. She sees it as a tool, not only to engender sympathy and support for the Muslim cause, but for recruitment. “This is not just a class of history of examining culture,” she said. “This course is entirely too specific. It is more about indoctrination.”

Lemings, upon learning of the course on Islam, approached the principal of Intermediate-Excelsior School of Byron, Nancy Castro, requesting the right to teach Christianity in the manner that Islam is taught and for the same length of time.

Castro has not responded to her request. Lemings later received, roundabout, information that the only way she could do this would be to teach the Christianity class (as a Christian Club) after school hours where students would come of their own accord. Otherwise, she would violate the law of (selective) Separation of Church and State. Excuse me?

In an interview with Nancy Castro, the principal of the schools in Byron, she stated to ANS that the Islam course (hidden within “History of Cultures”) reflects California (educational) Standards that meet State requirements.

When asked about the intensity of the Islamic course, Castro stated that the course “is not religion, but Ancient Culture and History. And,” she pointed out, “the text is a State Adopted textbook. We do not endorse any religion, we just make students aware.”

She stated that the textbook is now in use throughout California. When asked if she would allow Christianity to be taught the same way that Islam is taught, Castro stammered before saying that Christianity is already taught in the History and Culture class, “which,” she said, “actually starts in the 6th grade.”

She said that this class started a year ago. The Christianity that is taught is brief, taught as a myth, and strictly negative. This is how it is portrayed in the textbook.

Lemings had stated to ANS that there were many, many parents who protested this course on Islam, especially after September 11th ( which, coincidently, is when the course began).. Nancy Castro contradicted this account.

Asked if there was any response from parents about this course, Castro answered, “Oh a couple of parents called to express concerns, three to be exact.”

Peggy Green, Superintendent of the Byron Union School District did not return calls by press time.

The Muslim’s intentions are clear and the public has been continually notified of that fact. In nearby Fremont, where the majority of the over 150,000 Muslims living in the Bay Area reside, Omar M. Ahmad, chairman of the board of the Council on American-Islamic relations said this at the Flamingo Palace banquet hall: “I urge Muslims not to shirk their duty of sharing the Islamic faith with those who are on the ‘wrong-side’.”

He said that Muslims should not assimilate into American society. “If you choose to live here, you have a responsibility to deliver the message of Islam…Islam isn’t in America to be equal to any other faith, but to become dominant. The Koran should be the highest authority in America, and Islam the only accepted religion on earth,” he said.

These quotes were published in the” San Ramon Valley Herald” on July 4, 1998 (ironically on our Independence Day), 3 years, 2 months and 7 days before September 11, 2001. And like everything else, Americans and church leaders didn’t pay any attention to it.
In the same article, Ahmad stated: “Everything we need to know is in the Koran.” And bear in mind that the Koran clearly states that Muslims are obligated to kill Christians, Jews and all other infidels.

So why would the American Public School System and the politicians want to further the Islamic faith, push to have it become the One World Religion and nix Christianity?

Simple. Christians cannot be enslaved. Islam, an oppressive religion of control, cruelty and fear does enslave, which can keep people subdued. This is precisely what the future leaders of the One World Order want to achieve. And the misinformed, make nice, politically correct crowd seem eager to help them accomplish it.

But the greatest driving factor in all of this is money. There are the profiteers and politicians who stand to grow in unspeakable wealth and power by cooperating with the Arabs and finding favor by helping them and their pagan religion take control. They have no compunction in selling us out, and our freedom, to accomplish their goals. These greedy, self-serving investors stand salivating on both sides of the oil pump.

Reverend Austin Miles

I will never understand why Snopes became the be-all and end-all authority on urban legends. My perception is that Snopes tends to slant everything they discuss to the left (if possible).

Don't believe me? Then try explaining why they are listing the status as "Not quite" when the Claim is essentially verified in the discussion that follows.

Makes no sense.

Violation of Seperation of Church and State. It's a scandal, all right.

Status as possible hoax: Not a hoax.

A representative of the school issued the usual apologist stuff in defense of using a public school to teach religion: she said that teaching Islam is teaching ancient culture. I know. I watched the interview.

The Washington Times reported yesterday that:

"The school that recently came under fire for the way it was teaching the three-week course on Islam is Excelsior School in the Byron Union School District near Oakland. There, about 125 seventh-graders dressed up in Muslim robes, studied Islamic proverbs and read verses from the Koran, according to course description handouts that the school sent home to parents.

"The students also had to pick a Muslim name out of a list of 30, learn how to write six Islamic phrases in Arabic, and organize a make-believe journey, or hajj, to Mecca, according to the handout.

"From the beginning, you and your classmates will become Muslims," the handout reads. "Dressing as a Muslim and trying to be involved will increase your learning and enjoyment."

"Peggy Green, superintendent of the Byron Union School District, said in an interview yesterday that her schools are only teaching about Islam, not promoting the faith. Mrs. Green said students were given the option to dress up as a Muslim for extra credit.

"We are not teaching religion," Mrs. Green said. "We are teaching the California state-mandated standards with state-adopted textbooks. Dressing up in costume, role-playing and simulation games are all used to stimulate class discussion and are common teaching practices used in other subjects as well. There's nothing to be upset about."

Washington Times Article Thread

Your motives in posting this extremely long article: unknown.

I've never been able to tell what their politics are.

Really? I have: a bit to the Left, but still a good starting place for getting at the heart of a rumor.

I spent some time tracking this down yesterday, after I first heard of the issue. I looked up Across the Centuries on Houghton Mifflin's site. It's hard to tell from the TOC what sort of tone they take, but I can tell you the amount of material is badly disproportionate. Unit Two covers Roman law, the Justinian Code, Hinduism and Buddhism, Ethical monotheism (whatever that is) and Judeo-Christian traditions. Unit Three is Islam, in what appears to be painful detail.

It isn't right, but it isn't as badly wrong as many of the more hysterical articles are making it.

I will never understand why Snopes became the be-all and end-all authority on urban legends. My perception is that Snopes tends to slant everything they discuss to the left (if possible).

Quality, IMO. Good writing and, maybe they are to the left, but they tend to be clear on information.

Your motives in posting this extremely long article: unknown.

I've seen it discussed here and it's the clearest commentary on it I've seen.

Interesting read. I think, however, that much of the article's concern is misplaced. There is nothing wrong with teaching kids what Moslems believe. In fact, given that so much of our foriegn policy involves relations and wars with Moslem countries, it should be required. How can we understand our enemies (Iraq, Iran, Al-Qaeda, etc) and allies (Turkey, Pakistan, Jordan, etc) if we don't understand their religion? Teaching children about a religion is not the same thing as promoting the religion. It only becomes a problem if the teaching of the religion is biased. Public school childred should learn all the basic facts about Islam, the good and the bad. Unforuntatly the article doesn't get into this question, but my guess is that the uglier and crueler parts of Islamic doctrine and history are being ignored. That's the problem, not the fact children are being taught about Islam.

Of course, it is even more important for children to be taught the basics about Christianity. One cannot understand Western Civilization, even if one is an atheist, unless one understands what Christians believe, and for crying out loud we are a Western country. The idea that American children in public schools can't even be taught, in an unbiased, objective manner, what Chirstians believe is scandelous. It speaks volumes of how irrational this hysteria about seperation of church and state is.

oh so if somebody else has a bit different view of a situation than you, then this is bad and they shouldn't be allowed. That seems to be the tone of what you're saying.

We've read reports of islam being treated from christianity in other public schools as well. A bit of differences in subjective judgement on small issues does not change the fact that islam is taught for 3 weeks intensively whereas similar courses in christianity are widely recognized as taboo by bigots like you celtjew.

The same phenomenon is happening in India. India has a very strong democratic ethic just like the US. They have multiple religions much more so than the US. The dominant religion is Hindu. A minority religion is Muslim. The taxpayer financed public schools are not allowed to teach hindu curriculum. However, special schools have been made for the Muslims that are funded by the taxpayers. In these special schools anything the muslims want to teach about islam is the norm. In India they have totally double standards made up especially for the Muslims, the majority hindus are not given the same privilege.

The cause of this phenomenon is the same in both countries. In each case you have a large dominant class of socialists who desire to tear the country apart who are in charge. The muslims are favored precisely because they will aid in this destruction.

that's really good to know celtjew, christians and people sympathetic to christians can't express their views. thanks for that instruction. tomorrow wake up and try to be an american!!!

Reading comprehension: poor. Does not work well with others. Expect to see greater effort next semester.

Again: Why do they list the status as "Not quite"?

Maybe I need to dig deeper. Here's the actual claim:

Claim: Seventh graders in California are subjected to an intense three-week course in Islam in which they are required to pray to Allah and memorize Koran verses.

The fact that this is an issue with seventh graders is verified in the article. The fact that we are talking about California ("throughout") is verified in the article. Of course, those are the easy ones.

Three-week course? Well, Snopes seems to poo-poo this by saying,

Grade 7 pupils throughout California do study ancient Muslim cultures and the impact of Islam on world history, but only as one of eleven units that comprise that year's social studies course

Ohhhh.... not a special three-week unit, but rather "only" as one of eleven units (throughout the year). My mistake!

Wait a sec. How many weeks are in the school year? And what happens when you divide that number by eleven?

Just look at this passage, the way it is tinted. What is that "only" doing there - how does it serve the interests of objectivity? And why is there no actual discussion of the duration of the unit, when this information is widely available? Sure seems like they couldn't actually debunk it, so they tried to use subterfuge to make it sound like it's not true ("only one of eleven units") when it actually is.

One thing I will grant is that whether students are "required to pray to Allah" is neither verified nor debunked.... in the article.

However, are they required to "memorize Koran verses"? Again, for some reason this is not discussed all that explicitly, even though information is available. They admit that students must "trace the teachings" of Islam/Mohammed. (These "teachings" are written down somewhere.... Hmmm let me think...where could that be?) All we have is a pat denial of the Byron school district to comment on whether students memorize Koran verses. And....that's it.

So what have we learned? Every bit of the Claim which was actually researched and discussed is true. Certain aspects of the Claim which can be verified from other sources are ignored/not discussed/glossed over. Result? "Status: Not quite."

Then there is a bunch of blaming-the-source stuff about "Assist Ministries", whatever that is. Snopes notes that WND got its article from Assist, and then goes on to analyze parts of the Assist article which WND didn't publish, as if they are relevant. Seems to be a fairly blatant attempt at scare tactics - "don't believe these people, they're a bunch of nuts". Uh, but what about the claim? And why not try to verify it from other sources? Count me as distinctly unimpressed.

I will agree that some of the discussion in the article is fairly even-handed and critical of the school district. However the slant is still there. Consider this passage:

... it must be said if the shoe were on the other foot -- had the portions of world history centering on the spread of Christianity been taught in similar manner -- the outcry would have been thunderous. Also erring in this drama, however, was Assist Ministries,

Starts off sounding pretty good, right? They see the double standard. But then "don't forget that Assist Ministries is wrong too!" Uh, who cares? That has nothing to do with the Claim or whether it violates church/state or embodies a double standard. The only purpose of continuing to pound on Assist Ministries seems to be as a diversion to cloud the issue.

All I can say is that the final package ends up sounding like it was written from the point of view of someone who wanted to debunk the Claim, whether it was true or not, and used lots of propaganda techniques to do so (pick out an extreme straw man and beat on them, leave out information, color the way you explain things, etc.)

Again, I will never understand why Snopes became the be-all nad end-all authority on urban legends.

I'd say "not quite" is an accurate assessment of the claim "Seventh graders in California are subjected to an intense three-week course in Islam in which they are required to pray to Allah and memorize Koran verses."

"Seventh graders in California (and elsewhere) use an ancient history textbook with a disproportionate emphasis on Islam" is closer to the mark.

"I've seen it discussed here and it's the clearest commentary on it I've seen."

The commentary is not based upon current information. Christianity, which is twice as ancient as Islam and is the basis of modern Westen culture, i.e.: the culture of the country in which these kids live, is not taught in public schools because the ACLU would throw a FIT, and you know it.

Representatives of California's school system have admitted to the public that CA is teaching ISLAM, a religion, to public school children, which is a violation of Seperation of Church and State. The ACLU, of course, is silent.

At least one parent has taken legal action. These are facts.

There is no dubious question about whether or not this is a hoax, BECAUSE IT IS NOT A HOAX. The article contends that this is "not quite" a hoax. That means there are qualifications and extenuating circumstances. There are no qualifications or extenuating cirumstances which have not been reported.

I repeat, your motives in posting this long, already outdated and somewhat misleading article: unknown. At best.

The commentary is not based upon current information. Christianity, which is twice as ancient as Islam and is the basis of modern Westen culture, i.e.: the culture of the country in which these kids live, is not taught in public schools because the ACLU would throw a FIT, and you know it.

And your commentary is not based on reading this thread. The course in question does cover Christianity. It appears to be given too small a role to reflect its true historical significance and is possibly shown in too negative a light, but it's there.

And what "disproportionate" seems to add up to is that students, in following that textbook, will end up spending three weeks studying Islam, more or less.

And part of what they do in "studying Islam" - as pointed out in the article - is "trace the teachings" of Islam and Mohammed.

Where are those teachings written down?

I dunno, sounds to me like a distinction without a difference. The only way the article gets away with saying "not quite" is by omitting information (such as, a detailed discussion of just exactly how those "teachings" are "traced" - in practice, do teachers tend to have them memorize Koran verses, or don't they?)

All in all, the article doesn't impress me as objective scholarship.

All in all, the article doesn't impress me as objective scholarship.

No, on the whole I don't think snopes.com is an objective source. It tends to be more "rub you the wrong way" than flat "wrong", but the bias is there. But I wasted my lunch tracking down Across the Centuries yesterday, so I'm a little more exasperated with the exaggerations of the other side of the argument.

reading comprehension excellent, not a sheeple, don't like anti-christian bias encouraged by schoolteachers, summa cum laude instead.

I learned long ago that if the refutation takes a erally long time, it is usually BS and the allegation stands. The rebuttal above is way to long. The allegation satnds. The splitting of hairs does not refute the point.