Public schools struggle with lessons about Islam

The assignment on world religions that was handed out to students at Riverheads High School in rural Virginia seemed pretty simple, on its face. A teacher's printout explained why calligraphy was religiously significant to Muslims. The assignment asked students to re-create the complex strokes for the Shahada, the Islamic statement of faith, "to give you an idea of the artistic complexity of the calligraphy." The Shahada was not translated, but in Arabic, it states, "There is no god but God, and Mohammed is his messenger." It was religious indoctrination, parents charged. The angry calls and messages that flooded the district became so intense last week that Augusta County school officials shut down the district Friday, keeping 10,500 students home "out of an abundance of caution." The incident was the latest in a series of disputes involving Islam and the classroom, which come as the nation experiences a rise in anti-Muslim attacks and vandalism and renewed fears of terrorism after the bloodshed in Paris and San Bernardino.




http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/public-schools-struggle-with-lessons-about-islam/



Talk about failing to understand why some parents would be up in arms rightly over writing such a statement? Not only that of what purpose would it be for students to copy a statement they will in the majority of cases not agree with? This is not an art class or a language class either, but an understanding of different religions. At school Latin was seperate from religion and a seperate subject. calligraphy may well be important to Muslims, as it was to monks of the past with their beauitiful Bibles they created, but asking people to copy a statement, which can conflict with your views is not understanding a religion and its belief system.

Now can you imagine the uproar, if this is reversed and some Muslim students in a religious lesson on Christianity, we asked to write in Latin that "Jesus is the Son of God"?

Or how about asking a homosexual student to write in Latin:

" 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.1 They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. ???

So the article goes onto say this:

In October, a lawmaker in Tennessee introduced a bill that would forbid lessons about Islam until children reach high school, saying she feared the "indoctrination" of young students.


My stance would be no religious lessons are taught until children reach high school. Children before high school should instead have Social studies lessons, which provide a basic understanding of different religious beliefs, cultures, ethnicities etc. Its incredible when you think about how much school time is instead wasted on religious beliefs.
What they should instead create lessons for should be "Social and Personal Belief systems".

This could then cover religious beliefs but poilitical also, how ands where these system conflict. I mean when teaching about Christianity, Judaism and Islam are concerned, where beliefs held that conflict with the Secular beliefs enshrined in Western laws, should be openly discussed and debated for the students. Teaching bog standard lessons on what each faith believes, is again protecting these beliefs from genuine critcism and preventing open debate. I mean for example when being taught about Nazism, you see many reasoned critical views as very much part of the lesson.

Its time we stopped pandering to belief systems. Yes peopleneed to understand these beliefs systems but that we also rightly challenges some of these beliefs that conflict with secular values. It seems we actually do not teach much on these values, when they are very much a part of how we have progressed in society away from where once religious beliefs, which fundementally discrminated, held sway.

So yes, I am all for a better education system that actually is open on the belief systems. How are students to ever learn and understand belief systems,if they are not able to weigh up and reason what individual beliefs within that system are good or bad. Just because billions of people do believe in this belief systems, does not mean we should not teach and open and honest lesson on them.

Richard The Lionheart wrote:The assignment on world religions that was handed out to students at Riverheads High School in rural Virginia seemed pretty simple, on its face. A teacher's printout explained why calligraphy was religiously significant to Muslims. The assignment asked students to re-create the complex strokes for the Shahada, the Islamic statement of faith, "to give you an idea of the artistic complexity of the calligraphy." The Shahada was not translated, but in Arabic, it states, "There is no god but God, and Mohammed is his messenger." It was religious indoctrination, parents charged. The angry calls and messages that flooded the district became so intense last week that Augusta County school officials shut down the district Friday, keeping 10,500 students home "out of an abundance of caution." The incident was the latest in a series of disputes involving Islam and the classroom, which come as the nation experiences a rise in anti-Muslim attacks and vandalism and renewed fears of terrorism after the bloodshed in Paris and San Bernardino.




http://www.rawstory.com/2015/12/public-schools-struggle-with-lessons-about-islam/



Talk about failing to understand why some parents would be up in arms rightly over writing such a statement? Not only that of what purpose would it be for students to copy a statement they will in the majority of cases not agree with? This is not an art class or a language class either, but an understanding of different religions. At school Latin was seperate from religion and a seperate subject. calligraphy may well be important to Muslims, as it was to monks of the past with their beauitiful Bibles they created, but asking people to copy a statement, which can conflict with your views is not understanding a religion and its belief system.

Now can you imagine the uproar, if this is reversed and some Muslim students in a religious lesson on Christianity, we asked to write in Latin that "Jesus is the Son of God"?

Or how about asking a homosexual student to write in Latin:

" 'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable.1 They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. ???

So the article goes onto say this:

In October, a lawmaker in Tennessee introduced a bill that would forbid lessons about Islam until children reach high school, saying she feared the "indoctrination" of young students.


My stance would be no religious lessons are taught until children reach high school. Children before high school should instead have Social studies lessons, which provide a basic understanding of different religious beliefs, cultures, ethnicities etc. Its incredible when you think about how much school time is instead wasted on religious beliefs.
What they should instead create lessons for should be "Social and Personal Belief systems".

This could then cover religious beliefs but poilitical also, how ands where these system conflict. I mean when teaching about Christianity, Judaism and Islam are concerned, where beliefs held that conflict with the Secular beliefs enshrined in Western laws, should be openly discussed and debated for the students. Teaching bog standard lessons on what each faith believes, is again protecting these beliefs from genuine critcism and preventing open debate.  I mean for example when being taught about Nazism, you see many reasoned critical views as very much part of the lesson.

Its time we stopped pandering to belief systems. Yes peopleneed to understand these beliefs systems but that we also rightly challenges some of these beliefs that conflict with secular values. It seems we actually do not teach much on these values, when they are very much a part of how we have progressed in society away from where once religious beliefs, which fundementally discrminated, held sway.

So yes, I am all for a better education system that actually is open on the belief systems. How are students to ever learn and understand belief systems,if they are not able to weigh up and reason what individual beliefs within that system are good or bad. Just because billions of people do believe in this belief systems, does not mean we should not teach and open and honest lesson on them.

Pretty stupid assignment on the teacher's part; he or she should have anticipated a backlash. However, I think it was highly unlikely that he/she was trying to indoctrinate students. From what I understand, you have to know what that statement means and say it with honesty and sincerity before you're a Muslim.

I like this:

Sick of all the pro Muslim propaganda.

I'm sure the teachers are just following orders though...

Hard luck, I'm sick of the anti Muslim propaganda, and there is a lot more of that.

Really..?

All I see is loads of pro Muslim propaganda everywhere... from media, govts, schools, other local authorities and public bodies etc...

Why is that funny?

Tommy Monk wrote:Sick of all the pro Muslim propaganda.

I'm sure the teachers are just following orders though...

Following orders? You obviously don't know much about rural Virginia ...

So why was this even happening in the school unless it was because the teacher was following orders to do so?

sassy wrote:I like this:

which shows how totally dumb/stupid the apologists are

The issue ISNT the "learning arabic letters"

The issue IS that this was a Muslim article of faith


If Muslims in say a local school had been made to write out part or all of the lords prayer there would have been holy hell to pay (pun intended).

and they would have been "insulted" and they would have been "radicalised" and "we shouldnt do such things" and "yes they are entitled to more "respect""

when the boot is on the other foot however...its "suck it up"

when will the lefty's see that their continued crawling on their bellies is 90% of what makes everyone else so damn mad????????????

Lord Foul wrote:

which shows how totally dumb/stupid the apologists are

The issue ISNT the "learning arabic letters"

The issue IS that this was a Muslim article of faith

This is an article of faith?  

in Arabic, it states, "There is no god but God, and Mohammed is his messenger."

What is this?

Exodus 20:3 wrote:"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.…

Both religions have the same message, about the same god.  It's a totally a-religious exercise.  What are they worried about?

Original Quill wrote:

Lord Foul wrote:

which shows how totally dumb/stupid the apologists are

The issue ISNT the "learning arabic letters"

The issue IS that this was a Muslim article of faith

This is an article of faith?  

in Arabic, it states, "There is no god but God, and Mohammed is his messenger."

What is this?

Exodus 20:3 wrote:"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.…

Both religions have the same message, about the same god.  It's a totally a-religious exercise.  What are they worried about?

A non-Muslim doesn't necessarily think that Mohammed was God's messenger though.

Original Quill wrote:

Lord Foul wrote:

which shows how totally dumb/stupid the apologists are

The issue ISNT the "learning arabic letters"

The issue IS that this was a Muslim article of faith

This is an article of faith?  

in Arabic, it states, "There is no god but God, and Mohammed is his messenger."

What is this?

Exodus 20:3 wrote:"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth.…

Both religions have the same message, about the same god.  It's a totally a-religious exercise.  What are they worried about?

which just goes to prove my point