My wife ran across this on a blog talk radio channel. She sent me a link to an article in World Net Daily, TEXAS CHILDREN ROPED INTO ISLAMIC TRAINING. I started my research, and not surprisingly, had a hard time finding anything about it. I finally came across the story on the website of ABC affiliate KTRK-TV in Houston, Texas, CULTURAL AWARENESS OR ENDORSEMENT OF RELIGION?
These articles stemmed from an incident on the last day of school of the 2007-08 school year at FRIENDSWOOD JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL in Friendswood, Texas. Then principal, Robin Lowe, invited an Islamic civil rights group, the COUNCIL ON ISLAMIC-AMERICAN RELATIONS, against school board policy and without notifying parents, to give a presentation on Islam to the students. According to the KTRK-TV article, one of the parents, Paula Henry, said, "It wasn't just a cultural presentation, because they were telling my child who they believe God is and that Jesus was just a prophet, and that is religious studies." Attendance was apparently required, and it appears this was done during a P.E. class period.
The incident was of course downplayed by Principal Lowe, and the school board was continuing to look into this issue." Many in the community were wanting Principal Lowe to be punished and/or removed. I find it interesting that this was done on the last day of school. I don't know about anyone else, but for my entire school career, there was nothing of importance ever scheduled on the last day. It was generally a field day or something like that. If this was really "cultural awareness", I think it would have been scheduled during the school year. It appears to me it was purposely done on the last day of school to avoid the backlash. Bad idea - it happened anyway.
Once again, just where IS the ACLU on this? A search of their website of course revealed nothing. Regardless of your political leanings, we ALL know that if this had been a Christian pastor giving a presentation during class time at a public school, the ACLU would have blown into town IMMEDIATELY and started their threats and lawsuits. We would have also been bombarded by the mainstream news media every way we turned over those "evil Christians" and the "Religous Right" trying to "force" their beliefs on everyone else. And how dare a public school use taxpayer dollars to endorse Christianity?? We've all heard this mess over and over again, ad nauseum. What ever happened to your "separation of church and state" stance, ACLU? Or is it because there's nothing that refers to "separation of mosque and state?"
Or is it rather no one at the ACLU cares to oppose Islam at all? It would seem that it's OK to have religious presentations in our government schools unless it's a religion that believes the Bible. ACLU, if you're going to take such a strong stance on "Separation of Church and State", then it MUST be ALL churches and ALL religions, not just the ones with which you disagree. Now THAT'S what I call TOLERANCE!
Final notes: I noticed by visiting Friendswood Junior High School's site that Robin Lowe is no longer the principal there. She is now the principal of PERSHING MIDDLE SCHOOL in Houston, Texas.
An unsourced (by me) comment on the KTRK-TV article said, "This is suddenly happening in other schools and recently approved History text books were approved in Lodi, California that had a heavy lean on Islam and very little said of other religions. There is more going on here than meets the eye." I agree.
