The separate of church and state dictates the religious affiliations should not be present in the public sector. The reason the Founding Fathers made this decree was because they wanted all people to have equal opportunity. If the state favored one religion over another, then people of the minority religion would become subject to discrimination.
Now a former Marine and his wife are fighting back after they believe a Maryland public school engaged in unconstitutional teachings.
They believe the La Plata High School was forcing their students to learn and do assignments about Islam.
Now the marine and his wife are bringing this lawsuit to the highest form of court they can. And it is going to set the tone for what schools can and cannot do concerning religions in the years to come…The Marine, John Kevin Wood filed the lawsuit along with his wife Melissa with the Thomas More Law Center. According to the suit, the Woods believe their daughter’s high school forced the students to complete assignments that specifically endorsed Islam and the Muslim way of life.
For example, one of the assignments wrote that the Islamic creed of “Shahada,” which means “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” The Woods are upset that their daughter was force fed this knowledge about the religion that is foreign to them.
According to the Washington Free Beacon, when non-Muslims recite this phrase out loud, they are essentially converting to Islam.
But the La Plata High School forced their students to do more than just recite the Islamic creed. They forced to students to memorize the Five Pillars of Islam. The Woods and many others feel this is crossing the line and students should not have to learn this part of the Islamic religion.
The lawsuit has been filed against the Charles County Public School System, the Board of Education, and both the principal and the vice principal of the high school.
Besides forcing students to learn about Islam, the suit claims that the school district painted Christianity in a negative light.
“Defendants have treated Plaintiffs’ Christian beliefs and heritage as subordinate to Islamic beliefs and heritage, have treated Plaintiffs’ Christian beliefs and heritage with deliberate indifference, and have been hostile toward C.W. and her family,” the suit read.
The suit claims that schools should not teach about Islam.
“Parents must be ever vigilant to the Islamic indoctrination of their children under the guise of teaching history and multiculturalism. This is happening in public schools across the country. And they must take action to stop it,” Thomas More president Richard Thompson said in a statement.
Because many people believe that Christianity is under-represented in American public schools, the story has gone viral. Readers are contributing their responses to the controversial incident that will bring a strong resolution to the discussion about the separation of church and state.
Do you think schools should teach about the religions of the world including Islam?
Sure, so long as I get to teach the class. We allowed liberal ideology to go virtually unchallenged in schools for decades. Odd that they do not teach these people must believe that an Iron Age War Lord climbed onto the back of a winged horse with a human head and flew off into the heavens. Islam is a disease of the mind.
Comments
65 responses to “Marine Is Suing School After Finding Out They Forced Child To Study Islam. ”
Dafuk is any public school teaching any religion? Unless there’s a specific Religions of the World class, that teaches equally about ALL regions. As an elective.
La Plata used to be a nice little berg, but has simultaneously become a Washington DC bedroom community, and more and more housing is going to the Section Eight crowd.
I have no need to even pass through there anymore. Sad really.
It appears, basically, that The PDRofMd has become a suburb of the Washington DC Swamp. Looks like the only good memory I can have of that area is the Chesapeake Bay Seafood House? Was thru there in 81 and again in 88.
In most any other state, I would think that this Former Marine would have a good case. Up there, not so sure.
What would be the hue and cry if these students were being required to study the Torah, or recite the 10 Commandments?
Who thought this was a good idea? Slowly, slowly, slowly pushing their corrupt cult into the lives of Americans until such time we will accept all of it without question. If the students had been given assignments about Christianity there would be hell to pay and jobs would be lost. I tell you folks, I really believe it is too late to save this country without pitchforks and torches. Substitute the ‘device’ of your choice to replace pitchforks and torches. Anyone who had their fingerprints on this idea should be canned. Set the example that the indoctrination of this ‘religion’ of insanity will not be accepted.
“If the students had been given assignments about Christianity there would be hell to pay and jobs would be lost.”
As well as the Anti-Christian Litigation Union showing up in a matter of seconds!
Why is this school not teaching anything about Hinduism or Buddhism? What happened to teaching polytheism, as in pharonic, ancient Middle Eastern, Greek and Latin history? And what about Druidism? That’s a valid religion, as is Earth-oriented paganism/Gaia.
In addition, what about the Presbyterians, Orthodox, Methodists, Episcopalians, Baptists, Anabaptists, Catholics,Lutherans, and Mormons, never mind the Holy Rollers, Pentecostals and Jehovah’s Witnesses?
And the Amish – let’s not forget the Amish!!! #Barnraisers Beliefs Matter, Too!
Fair is fair. These all have to be taught, too, or it is not a valid class and the school system is trying to convert children to a specific religion without their knowledge or consent, or the knowledge and consent of their parents.
Durn! Left out Judaism, all branches of it. My sister will never share a recipe with me again.
You left out Meism. I’m the only one practicing it but I want it taught in Public Schools.
Meism is mostly practiced by the Stolen Valor crowd, isn’t it, Beans? I goes with SJWism, CAGWism and Greenbeanery, all different branches of the same cult.
Which branch is yours?
Stolen Valor Crowd and Millenials of course….
Not that I support their cause but some would also claim Satanism (those guys that won the law suit against the Sabrina the Witch TV show) should be taught as well. As would Sikhism, Maoism, Witch Craft, and why don’t we throw in the Jim Jones Cult and Dave Koresh for good measure!
I’m a devout Dudeist Monk.
My Holy day is spent drinking White Russians and bowling while wearing the Sacred (bath)Robe
The Dude abides.
Not sure if it’s the same guy, but there is a Snopes articles with very similar details: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/marine-banned/
If that’s the case, then the class was on World History:
“The particular unit in question at La Plata High School is on the formation of Middle Eastern empires in which students learned the basic concepts of the Islamic faith and how it, along with politics, culture, economics and geography, contributed to the development of the Middle East. Other religions are introduced when they influence or impact a particular historical era or geographic region. For example, when reviewing the Renaissance and Reformation, students study the concepts and role of Christianity. When learning about the development of China and India, students examine Hinduism and Buddhism.”
So it looks like they did at least cover the big ones. Of course, followers of Jupiter, Odin, Horus, Xenu, and others might feel a bit left out. 😉
Apparently they do teach about Hinduism and Buddhism, when they cover Eastern civilizations. The stupid exercises they had kids do are offensive in the sense that they’re utterly devoid of any value and, yes, saying the average Muslim has stronger faith than the average Christian is just dumb as rocks, but I doubt it reaches the level of ‘indoctrination’.
This case is also old (2016), and has already been dismissed, though I’ll leave the details to legal people:
https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20161003c36
All in all, they’re covering world civilizations, region by region, and touch on culture and religion when they do. They should do it in a better way, but I don’t see anything inherently indefensible in that. Christianity is covered too – what’s next, an atheist kid’s parents complaining? Learning about the world ain’t bad, just have the lessons be less controversial.
Problem is, they shouldn’t be teaching anything about “religion” in Public Schools. Especially when they’re missing so much information about technology, writing, hygiene, music, art, basic and advanced mathematics,,,,uh, the list is virtually endless.
They didn’t teach us muslim conversion when I attended DooWopp University. Just try and stay on your note and don’t drift up to second tenor they told me. Doo Bop shoo doo bop.
My high school did this when I went through. Two whole weeks on islam in History class. Somebody asked about Christianity, and the answer was, “We don’t need to teach you about your own religion.” I thought that was a bit presumptive, but what the hell. I added it to a long list of bullshit in high school that I just blew off. Not a peep was made about Judaism, Buddhism, or Hinduism, and the most they ever said about Christianity was “Crusades bad!” and a brief mention of witch burnings in Salem (never mind that the alleged witches in Salem were hanged, not burned). But mohammedanism got two full weeks devoted to it. And this was pre-9/11.
That was because of all the money the Saudi Wahabbists were spreading around in our educational system. And they are still doing it.
I am a godless heathen myself, but I don’t see how learning about the five pillars or reciting the creed in a classroom setting “essentially converts” someone to Islam. I am a strong supporter of the first amendment and the separation of church and state, but simply learning about religions and their tenets does not constitute an endorsement of them. It does become an issue when a public school tries to convert kids or force them to pray, which I am not convinced happened here. Am I wrong in assuming the class taught the kids about Judaism and Christianity as well, but it only became an issue once Desert Mo was brought up? Pray to whichever sky daddy you like, but don’t be a hypocrite by demanding more religion in public spaces, then crying foul when it isn’t your particular one.
According to Islamic law, Sharia, speaking the Shahada aloud is reversion to Islam.
It is enforceable. And -leaving- Islam, is Apostasy, forbidden, and punishable.
Trickery to gain followers is expressly approved.
So I can see why some folks might object to reciting words. If someone was running the kids through Baptism, “as a lesson”, folks would be -freaking- over it.
We, as a society, decided we didn’t want public schools teaching Christianity. We cannot now have them teach any of the other faiths, without opening that whole worm-can back up.
One more example of why the problem is public schools, not what they teach there. Privatize the whole mess, give every kid a basic school stipend to spend on the required education, and let folks choose what they want for their kids. The good schools will thrive, and the crappy ones will fail. And folks can leave the crappy ones easily.
And no one will be forcing any particular faith on anyone else’s kids.
Since privatization prevents coercion, it will be largely opposed, for BS reasons other than the real reason: loss of power.
Quite frankly, I don’t give a flying spaghetti monster about what Muslims believe. If I want to (which I don’t, because I have better things to do) I’ll say the Shahada out loud all day long and scratch my balls doing it. THEIR belief won’t make ME book a flight to Mecca or make me believe in that claptrap any more than I believe in the Easter Bunny. Besides, IIRC I’d need to snip the tip of my sixth pillar for the conversion to be considered valid, so there’s that…
I think his main point here is that if you were to ever find yourself in a place where they’re practicing any kind of sharia, it would be held against you as apostasy. Of course, if you find yourself in such a place, including one of the European “sharia zones,” you have some serious problems on your hands either way.
I think that a good point could also be made that pushing this on impressionable children/teenagers as part of their public (i.e. separate from religion) education is a subversive act. Your reaction as a grown, mature adult with life experience is not necessarily going to be the standard. As Catholic as I am, I’m with Dave Hardin and VOV on this topic.
What you have to remember is that there are a statistically large percentage of devout Muslims who believe it is OK to kill apostates.
And they define it their way, not yours.
Actually, stating “godless” is only slightly less punishable than Apostasy, as in next-up, not a lesser penalty.
It is one of those situations “you may not care about X, but X sure cares about -you-”
It is one thing to say “The Shahada (explain) is a core tenet of Islam” m it is quite another to say “repeat after me (Shahada)”. The latter is -explicitly- recruiting, as much as a taking a dunk in the Baptism pool.
I think it valid in a public education is to explain basics of faiths to folks. I think in -no- case should that instruction involve actions resembling joining behavior, nor refuting either.
But it is -very- hard to deliver that stuff neutrally. Very.
Kinda like saying “Beetlejuice” 3 times…..?
Well, when I had World Religions class (in college) in pursuit of my (unfinished) religion degree, we were told that saying “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is his prophet” makes you a Muslim according to Islamic belief. So, it’s what Muslims believe. We also covered the five pillars (and my prof didn’t believe there were six, but I think she mentioned there were some who said jihad was the sixth pillar—but she was Presbyterian).
Wiki disagrees:
“Recitation of the Shahada in front of witnesses is also the first and only formal step in conversion to Islam.[9] This occasion often attracts more than the two required witnesses and sometimes includes a party-like celebration to welcome the convert into their new faith.[11] In accordance with the central importance played by the notion of intention (Arabic: نیّة, niyyah) in Islamic doctrine, the recitation of the Shahada must reflect understanding of its import and heartfelt sincerity.[21][22] Intention is what differentiates acts of devotion from mundane acts and a simple reading of the Shahada from invoking it as a ritual activity.[21][22]”
Simply reciting it does not a convert make, unless you have witnesses and really, really mean it.
Also, some Shia sects do have Jihad (aka, struggle) as a pillar or practice, but traditional Islam only has its five: faith, prayer, fasting, charity, trip to Mecca.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Pillars_of_Islam#Pillars_of_Shia_Islam
A practicing Muslim told me that the words are sufficient, since Islam is the natural state. Even by trickery it counts.
Others acknowledged that although less than ideal, it still counts.
I have reason to believe my sources were on the level.
Note: Most Muslims strongly disagree with a major subset of fellow Muslims as to who is, and is not, Apostate. See Suni v Shia v every other flavor = Mayhem.
The butchery of the Iran-Iraq war was in part fueled by that Suni/Shia conflict. (Also Arab/Persian antipathy, only slightly less bloodthirsty)
Makes the Irish “troubles” seem like a minor scrap, in comparison.
“Desert Mo!” That one’s going in the books.
When I was in school from ’73 – ’87 World Religion (or something like that) covered faiths fairly equal.
Islam didn’t happen until roughly 610 AD. Desert Mo was born in 571 and had his first aneurysm/revelation around 610. So Islam wasn’t covered so much as Judaism and Christianity. Probably even less than Greek and Roman gods.
How can Muslims reconcile their prophet/messiah Mohammed marrying a 6 year old girl then consummating that marriage when she was 9 and he was 53?
Their No. 2 dude was a pedophile.
The apologists have excuses for rebuttal but they’re built on weak foundations.
Excuse No. 1) The Koran says the female gets to choose and must give consent.
Response: there is an age of consent throughout most cultures based on societal norms, mores, faith and codified law. It’s not at the age of 6.
Excuse No. 2) Historical records are inaccurate.
Response: Muslims and scholars of Islam agree that Aisha was 6 at marriage and 9 at consummation.
“Aisha was just six years old when she was betrothed to Muhammad, himself in his 50s, and only nine when the marriage was consummated. They base this on a saying attributed to Aisha herself [Hadith] (Sahih Bukhari volume 5, book 58, number 234), and the debate on this issue is further complicated by the fact that some Muslims believe this to be a historically accurate account.”
Excuse No. 3) Aisha wasn’t the only one, this was the social norm and there were younger females married at the time.
Response: “Everybody else is doing it so I can too.”
Excuse No. 4.) Saudi Arabia considered the age of maturity to be the onset of puberty.
Response: This is a social construct, however history tells us that procreation took place throughout all cultures when females reached child bearing age in part due to very short life spans.
The Koran is explicit about treatment/destruction of the non-believers.
The Judeo-Christian faith began with severe punishment for transgressions as outlined in the Old Testament, Leviticus.
With the New Testament, those punishments went away. Later down the road, the Reformation happened and paying for penance stopped.
I do not know the Torah or the Talmud. So far as I know, no one is getting stoned to death in Israel for mowing their lawn on the Sabbath.
Instead of fairy tales in high school it might be good to work with STEM basics because the USA should be focusing on creating the best and brightest students in the areas of study that will in fact benefit the nation and the student utilizing that skill set.
We need a whole lot less divinity students and whole lot more engineers, scientists, mathematicians, and technology skill sets to compete and maintain the highest GDP on the earth.
As with so many things I like Jefferson’s take on this. Leave religion to the parents and leave it out of the schools.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
Nota bene: The phrase “separation between Church & State” appears in this letter, not in the First Amendment.
If we’re comparing notes, God isn’t mentioned anywhere in the Constitution so there’s that as well…the founders were fairly clever in their use of the creator to justify revolution in the Declaration and equally clever to leave god out of the Constitution where he wasn’t needed.
It’s made for some interesting SCOTUS cases and continues to provide fuel for debate to this day.
I would privatize every public school, and let the parents choose freely.
Better privatization by far than the mess we have now, or arguing about what is “officially” OK.
Your particular belief is no more privileged than anyone else’s.
… God isn’t mentioned anywhere in the Constitution so there’s that as well…
“..done in Convention by the Unanimous Consent of the States present the Seventeenth Day of September in the Year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and Eighty seven and of the Independance of the United States of America the Twelfth In witness whereof We have hereunto subscribed our Names,”
:rofl:
Thank you for that.
There is a big difference between trying to convert someone to a religion and teaching ABOUT the religion. I was taught about various world religions and their histories in high school and college depending on the courses, somehow wound up being decently educated on Zeus, Jupiter, Yahweh, God, Allah, Buddha, and a few other belief sets – and converted to nothing I hadn’t already ascribed to. This sounds as much an overreaction as the kerfluffle over the White House red trees… proving that over-sensitive people getting triggered by something is not the exclusive domain of the snowflakes. Maybe I just don’t have enough information to be outraged.
I grew up a Protestant and graduated from a Roman Catholic high school. My spousal unit is Jewish. I served in several Muslim nations. Closing in on 60, I remain a Protestant.
What I’ve learned is to never let organized religion diminish my personal faith in God.
I think you are on to something there…
I remember learning about Hannukah in the 1st Grade. I also took Greek Mythology and The Bible as Literature in high school.
Much to do about nothing.
This is ridiculous. Learning ABOUT Islam is not the same thing as “studying Islam”.
Islam is one of the most important religions in the world and it’s influence and existence has an indesputable impact on world events.
You can’t understand a significant aspect of global politics and events without having at least some understanding of Islam.
It is necessary education for anyone to be a functional person in the 21st century.
Frivolous and nonsense lawsuit.
This lawsuit will be thrown out but he should also be required to reimburse the public’s legal costs.
Also, a marine that does not understand Islam is not sufficiently proficient in his duties.
Separation of Chirch and state does not mean our schools fail to teach basic understanding of the world’s religions in contemporary and historical context.
A necessary education in the 21st century is to have basic math and grammar skills. Next time you get a soy latte for your evening stroll around the needles and feces laying in the street, pay cash and ask the barista to count your change bank correctly. Snap a pic of the reaction and share with us, it will be a hoot.
Children in school are not allowed to have candy canes, but they can be taught about a pedophile. Makes sense.
So now you are back to cults again.
Would you like to see all cults taught….I mean learned about in Public Schools?
Chirch? Is that a new religion no one has heard of up to now? Never heard of Chirch until now. Do you get wafers with it?
It appears that someone’s personal prejudices are finally showing up. That’s good to know. Another hole in his bucket of gravel. Keep it up, squishfishMcblobdwidh.
HEY Babbles McButthead, just how many terrorist attacks since 9/11/01 have been carried out by non-muzzies? Just wanted to point out how you merely regurgitate the shit that your perfessers at UC Berxerkely feed you!
Your Proggie crew has been proven to be untrustworthy of teaching simple math. Proggie centic schools are largely a wasteland of failure
Thus Proggie input on this topic is essentially suspect and mostly worthless. Your ilk will politicize, and ruin, anything.
Again, I would privatize all schools, stipend the kids, and let folks seek what works best for them. Central Catholic in Pittsburgh in 1980s turned out exceptionally well educated kids. The nearby public school, a district over, was a sea of crap. I have spent better than $100k so far putting my Niece through a Montessori to get her away from the mind-stultifying Proggie run public school in her area.
Obviously, Lars, you haven’t seen what’s being taught in the local schools. If they spent more time on the three “R’s”, and less time on social justice warfare shit, American kids would be doing better in schools and in comparison to students from other countries.
And, asshole, when your use the term Marine to describe a person, it’s with a capital “M”.
Was this nitwit also outraged when the DoD used public funds to teach service members about Islam when they were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan or the ME?
Nobody here would know that. Get a hold of the guy and explain the argument going on at TAH. Be nice about it though.
Might even be a tah cult member.
Are 14 year old girls preparing to deploy to the Middle East?
Thinking things through and correct logical reasoning never were the strong suit of The Entity Formerly Known As ‘Poodle’ (AKA ‘Commissar’). Rather,
Communist dogma“Progressive” talking points are his strong point. And boy, does he preach them!In fact, in terms of style and logic his diatribes remind me much of the dysfunctional rantings of intolerant fundamentalist Bible-thumping preachers who feel superior to (and show contempt for) everyone outside their own warped congregation. In particular, the Phelps cult, that so-called “Westboro Baptist Church”, comes to mind.
Poodledick, you just keep sounding dumber by the damn day. Would a cold drink and an original thought actually kill you?
chuntapatooie you just won’t go away will you?
If these other life styles, religions, gubmit models ect are so great, why don’t you go to one of those utopian paradises?
Delta is ready when you are.
It’s Lars Taylor. He is burdened by a combination of stupidity and a pathological need to pretend that he is better and smarter than others—in addition to the myriad other issues he has put on display around TAH. I can only imagine how “enjoyable” he must have been to work with in the Army.
Spenser Rapone’s idol.
Remember when, as the Commissar, he spent YARDS of space explaining Communism to us – and nobody cared? But it did make him look like what he really is – and it wasn’t pretty.
So what’s next, amoebablob? Do we get lectures on how great Lysenkoism is, ignoring the millions of people who starved because of that slumguzzling fraud with his head up Stalin’s ass?
HEY Babbles McButthead, I bet that JUST ONE piece of logic, common sense or fact makes your head explode!
“Also, a marine that does not understand Islam is not sufficiently proficient in his duties.”–The moron with a degree
What sort of idiotic statement is that? Doubtless, it is precisely b/c that he knows of and about Islam that he is seeking to protect his daughter and her classmates from that vile religion of terror.
Indeed I think most of us don’t much care what god or no god you worship if you’re an enemy of this nation we’re not interested in letting you live long enough to share your views on the afterlife because we’d prefer you go find out if you’re right for yourself, now.
Islam is a religion that brings misery wherever it goes, beyond that I don’t give a flying fuck what their pedophile prophet and his goat fucking followers want to think or do about anything.
Instead of teaching the tenets of the faith teaching the reality of the absolutely cruel, patriarchal, stone age belief system of these goat fucking shit bags and their treatment of women and others as mere chattel or slaves should be mandatory.
I’d like to see commercials about islam like we have about smoking. That islam might be hazardous to your health because your loving family will chop off your clitoris if you’re a baby girl….or they’ll chop off your head if you have the misfortune of being raped by a friend of the family.
Islam is a shit religion designed by ignorant goat fucking shitheads to maintain power by suppressing the rights of every other person in their realm.
That’s all you need to know about islam and the shitbags who follow this ridiculous cult.
^^THIS^^
Whatever anyone may think about this, it’s done from a smattering of information provided by the media. This resource, the actual complaint, spells out the issues. As with any complaint, it is one side of the issue only.
https://www.thomasmore.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Thomas-More-Law-Center-Files-Lawsuit-On-Behalf-of-Marine-Dad-Banned-from-Schoo-After-He-Objected-to-Islamic-Indoctrination-Complaint-Time-Stamped.pdf
These creations will use any means to push their barbaric ideologies onto the young. The safest way to deal with these barbarians and their teachings is to ban them from public placers and schools.
Hey Ken.Taylor. You left a question unanswered when last you were here. Remember it? I do.
Yeah, that’s the same response you had to the question.
keep up the fight! hope you win BIG TIME!
Would any of us like to have a public school teacher giving instruction on ANY flavor of religion in a public school? Have known some very good teachers who could handle the job, but most absolutely could not teach religion. Besides all that, which version of your, my, or someone else’s religion should they teach? How’s about NONE OF THEM!