Last month, the Texas State Board of Education approved a set of social studies textbooks after some disputes between Christian Right members of the board and scholars who had reviewed the texts. Although experts recruited by the Texas Freedom Network to review the proposed texts managed to convince textbook companies to remove some objectionable material, some claims demanded by conservative members of the board remained, including assertions that Moses was a direct influence on the founding of the U.S.

In an article for Religion Dispatches today, one of TFN’s reviewers, David R. Brockman, who teaches religious studies at Southern Methodist University, writes about his experience as a textbook reviewer and his frustrations with the board’s process for reviewing curricula on world religions. “The curriculum standards and the adoption process in Texas don’t simply lack balanced and accurate coverage of the world’s religions; they work against it,” he writes. “And while textbook publishers generally struggle against this tide, they are sometimes dragged along with it.”

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A group of protesters asked the Manhattan Beach Unified School District to review how it teaches Islam at the school board’s meeting on Dec. 10.

A couple stood outside the building’s entrance with signs that said “Stop teaching Islam,” and “No Islam en la escuela” [sic]. As people entered, they handed out pamphlets that said in all caps, “TEACHING ISLAM WITHOUT WARNING LABELS IS LIKE STORING DRAINO IN A SUGAR BOWL.”

During the meeting, 11 individuals explained how they thought the school board should change or eliminate its teaching of Islam.

“Mein Kampf reads like a love story compared to the Quran,” said Steve Amundson. “I propose Islam be removed from the curriculum. It’s more akin to Nazism than a religion.”

The parents of a Manhattan Beach Middle School seventh grader said that they became concerned when their son showed them his homework, which asked students to write down the five tenets of Islam.

“This is the homework that set us off,” said Judy Diethelm as she held up the worksheet. “He had to write down ‘Allah is the one true God.’ The curriculum being presented is indoctrination, and we are opposed to this.”

The boy’s father, Keith Johnson, said that they had asked the school’s principal to remove the textbook, Medieval and Early Modern Times. “We are not anti-Islam, but pro-equality,” he said.

Later, Gary Aven of Redondo Beach asked where the principal, John Jackson, was. “He’s right here,” said a man, indicating the man next to him. “Why didn’t you respond to that parent?” he asked, pointing at Jackson.

“Oh, I did,” said Jackson before Bill Fournell, the newly elected president of the school board, interrupted. “Sir, this isn’t an inquisition,” he said to giggles from a group of high school students.

Once public comment ended, Superintendent Michael Matthews said that the textbook and curriculum were “specifically prescribed” by the state, and that he supported that mandate.

“Scrutiny can be a great thing,” said Matthews. “I’m proud to be a place where people can come to us to speak their mind. But in terms of banning a certain part of the curriculum that people don’t agree with, I’m not going to go along with that.” He invited the protesters to give their feedback to the state.

After the meeting, Jackson and a couple of others discussed how they would exit the building. When asked if other parents had contacted him about the Islam issue, he said no. “Outside the board meetings, they’re the only ones,” he said.

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KENNESAW — With a unanimous 5-0 vote Monday, the Kennesaw City Council approved a permit allowing an Islamic prayer center to open in a retail center, reversing its decision earlier this month to deny the request.

The controversial vote came despite protests from a crowd of about 20 people outside City Hall holding signs with the words “Ban Islam” and “No Mosque” and waving American flags before and after the meeting.

Monday’s vote, which was approved with a list of other items on the consent agenda without discussion, allows the applicant for the mosque, Kennesaw resident Mufti Islam, to use a 2,200-square-foot space in a retail shopping center off Jiles Road near Cobb Parkway as a Muslim prayer center.

Kashif Islam, the applicant’s brother, said he had no ill feelings toward the protesters. “They have the right to protest,” Kashif Islam said.

Kashif Islam said he was happy he was given the freedom to practice his religion in the retail center and that the vote ended peacefully. “This is not life and death. We’ve been living in this neighborhood for 15 years. Have you ever seen us getting into trouble? No,” Kashif Islam said.

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On his show last night, Fox host Bill O’Reilly (12/15/14) weighed in on the value of torture and the hostage situation in Australia:

In Sydney, Australia today, a Muslim fanatic apparently kills two, injures four others, before police shoot him dead. Another lone wolf terror attack that was seen all over the world. So far all the wolves have been Muslims.

The suspect in this case was Muslim, though that would seem to be just part of the story;  he faced “22 counts of aggravated sexual assault and 14 counts of aggravated indecent assault,” as the Guardian reported (12/15/14).

But is it really true that every “lone wolf” terrorist is Muslim? No.

Back in 2011, pundits claimed the Arizona mass shooting carried out by Jared Loughner should be considered an isolated incident, disconnected from any particular political movements or rhetoric he may have espoused. But as Jim Naureckas (FAIR Blog, 1/12/11) showed, using a list from the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, this argument requires treating many acts of political violence as the work of “lone nuts.”

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Despite brewing discontent over lessons related to Islam at Manhattan Beach Middle School and claims of indoctrination, the school district insists its curriculum follows state teaching standards that require students to learn about the major world religions.

Middle-school parents and others spoke out before the Manhattan Beach Unified School District board again this week, urging it to pull a middle-school social science textbook on medieval and early history and immediately discontinue any teaching about Islam.

The issue first arose in October, when Keith Johnson and his wife were approached by their middle-school son, who was concerned about an assignment for his history class.

“‘There is only one God – Allah.’ ‘People should submit to Allah.’ These are all phrases one would expect to hear uttered in a mosque, but, unfortunately, that’s not the case here,” Johnson told the school board Wednesday night. “These were all phrases our son was asked to write down in his seventh-grade social-science class.”

Johnson said the teacher and principal told him the lesson was part of learning about the history of the world. But what does presentation of the five pillars of Islam or testimony that Muhammad is the one true god have to do with history?” Johnson said. “The answer is absolutely nothing. It has more to do with religious dogma, which is strictly forbidden from being taught in public schools.”

Federal law does prohibit public schools from teaching religion to students – thus ensuring a separation of church and state – but the U.S. Supreme Court also has made clear that students can be taught about religion, especially its role in the development or progression of certain countries, district officials noted.

“Religion is essential in modern American history,” Superintendent Mike Matthews said. “You can’t teach about the settlement of America without knowing about the pilgrims and the Puritans. You can’t know about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. without knowing that he was a Christian minister. … We have an obligation to let our kids know about the various religions out there so they can better understand the world today.”

More importantly, the school district’s hands are tied by the state Department of Education in terms of what is taught in public schools, district officials said. And the district uses state-approved textbooks that are aligned with California teaching standards, Matthews said.

“We are completely following the state framework,” he said. “The five pillars of Islam, the Quran, Abraham, Moses, Jesus Christ, quotes from Matthew and Luke are all in the textbook approved by the state.”

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