School administrators say that Islam is taught to students as part of history and understanding the world. However, critics notice a bias in favor of Islam over Christianity and Judaism in some schools, whether or not Muslim prayer is featured in school textbooks.
Here are facts behind four cases involving the teaching of Islam in schools.
1. A parent in Longwood, Florida complained in 2015 that Lyman High School students were told to recite Islamic prayers and make an Islamic prayer rug in his 15-year-old son's history class. The father met with Seminole County school officials to discuss the incident. He also said there were up to 100 pages missing from his son's history book.
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An investigation by state education officials found that the students were studying Islam for world history. There were 68 pages missing from the history book, but they also included information on Judaism and Christianity. The missing pages had resulted from a binding error and the publisher replaced the damaged copies.
The prayer rug was part of an art assignment, according to officials in the investigation. However, the school district later recommended the teacher assign a different art project for world history,
according to Politifact.
2. A California history book for seventh graders contains far more information on Islam than other religions, according to educators who spoke to the American Freedom Alliance (AFA) about the book, "History Alive," in 2015.
The book had 55 pages on Islam, compared to 16 pages for Christianity and one page for Judaism. The critics were told that students learn about those religions in the sixth grade, but the AFA speakers said Christianity and Judaism still received half the attention as Islam.
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A middle school teacher, who taught "History Alive" from 1995 to 2001 in San Diego, said some teachers asked students to recite Muslim prayers and take a Muslim name as part of the class. Such practices were not assigned for classes on Christianity or Judaism,
reports Breitbart.
3. Citizens groups and a state house representative spoke before the school board in Brevard County, Florida in 2013 about the Islamic bias used in a history class for ninth-grade students.
The book, Prentice Hall World History, devoted an entire chapter to Islam while Christianity and Judaism were only referenced in other sections,
according to FloridaToday.com.
4. In 2002, parents and community leaders challenged the school district in Byron, California, claiming Islamic indoctrination of seventh grade students in world history and geography classes.
A U.S. district judge ruled that it wasn't indoctrination, but teaching students about the religion within the context of world history,
according to WND.com.
However,
according to Snopes.com, which debunked some exaggerated claims by critics, found the state's guidelines on the subject matter "troubling." The social studies program included tracing the origins of Islam and the teachings of Muhammad. Snopes noted, "Many parents would be up in arms" if students were taught the teachings of Jesus Christ as part of world history.
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