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Judge
rules Islamic education OK in California classrooms As WND reported in July of last year,
the suit was filed by the Thomas More Law Center against the Byron Union
School District and various school officials to stop the use of the
"Islam simulation" materials and methods used in the Excelsior
Elementary School in Byron, Calif. In
her 22-page ruling announced Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Phyllis
Hamilton said Excelsior is not indoctrinating students about Islam when
it requires them to adopt Muslim names and pray to Allah as part of a
history and geography class, but rather is just teaching them about
the Muslim religion. When
WorldNetDaily first reported the story in January 2002 – shortly after
the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks committed by 19 Islamist terrorists
– major controversy ensued nationwide. The
World History and Geography class in question is part of a curriculum
being taught to seventh-graders all over the state, and is included in
the state's curriculum standards required by the state board of
education. Although the standards outline what subjects should be taught
and will be included in state assessment tests, they don't mandate how
they're to be taught. In
the three-week course, Excelsior teacher Brooke Carlin had students
assume Islamic names, recite prayers in class, memorize and recite
verses from the Quran, and had them simulate Ramadan fasting by going
without something for a day. The final test required students to
critique Muslim culture. The
Islam simulations at Excelsior are outlined in the state-adopted
textbook "Across the Centuries," published by Houghton
Mifflin, which prompts students to imagine they are Islamic soldiers and
Muslims on a Mecca pilgrimage. The lawsuit also alleges students were
encouraged to use such phrases in their speech as "Allah Akbar,"
which is Arabic for "God is great," and were required to fast
during lunch period to simulate fasting during the Islamic holy month of
Ramadan. Nevertheless,
the judge ruled the program was devoid of "any devotional or
religious intent," and as therefore educational, not religious in
nature. 'Double
standard' decried
However,
Richard Thompson, chief counsel for Thomas More, points to what he calls
an obvious double standard. "While
public schools prohibit Christian students from reading the Bible,
praying, displaying the Ten Commandments, and even mentioning the word
'God,' students in California are being indoctrinated into the religion
of Islam," he told WND on filing the lawsuit. "Public schools
would never tolerate teaching Christianity in this way. Just imagine the
ACLU’s outcry if students were told that they had to pray the Lord's
Prayer, memorize the Ten Commandments, use such phrases as 'Jesus is the
Messiah,' and fast during Lent," he added. According
to Thompson, "Although it is constitutional for public schools to
have an instructional program about comparative religion or teach about
religion and utilize religious books such as the Bible in courses about
our history and culture, the Byron Union School District crossed way
over the constitutional line when it coerced impressionable 12-year-olds
to engage in particular religious rituals and worship, simulated or
not." However,
Byron Superintendent Peggy Green defended the program: "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." And
Excelsior Principal Nancie Castro maintained, "At no point do we
teach or endorse religion; we teach about religions' impact from a
historical context. ... This is the state-approved curriculum, using
state-adopted textbooks and has been part of the instructional program
in California for over a decade." Appealing
to the 9th Circuit?
Yesterday,
Thompson told WND that his legal team believed from the start that,
regardless of who won the first round, this case would go to appeal –
and that is exactly where he wants it to go. With some irony, Thompson
points out that the appeal would go to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
"This
is the court that said, in the 'Under God' Pledge case, that the mere
expression 'One nation under God' [recited in a public school] violates
the Constitution," said Thompson. "It will be very interesting
to see how they deal with this Byron School District case where students
are basically required to become Muslims for three weeks!" While
the Thomas More Law Center is intent on appealing the case, it is
awaiting word from the plaintiffs as to their intent. |