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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAll schools shut down in Augusta County, Virginia, Because CALLIGRAPHY!?!
(CNN)After a teacher at a Virginia school handed out a standard homework assignment on Islam, such an angry backlash flooded in that it prompted officials to close every single school in the county as a safety precaution.
"While there has been no specific threat of harm to students, schools and school offices will be closed Friday, December 18, 2015," Augusta County Schools said. Extracurricular activities were shut down Thursday afternoon.
https://twitter.com/NBC29/status/677621100361175040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
https://twitter.com/pourmecoffee/status/677701618796797954?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/18/us/virginia-school-shut-islam-homework/index.html
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tanyev
(42,544 posts)
LiberalEsto
(22,845 posts)They'll definitely ban it.
Who needs eddycashun anyway?
They're ign-rent & proud of it
yellowcanine
(35,699 posts)they do a math assignment??????
Initech
(100,062 posts)
WinkyDink
(51,311 posts)ChisolmTrailDem
(9,463 posts)
procon
(15,805 posts)yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Yeah not smart in a public school. I'd be outraged too. You can write that but can't pray in a group of children on their own or bring a Bible to school or say Merry Christmas. Nope no religion or all religion. Glad the school got the message.
yellowcanine
(35,699 posts)What message would that be? That a school teacher can't give a calligraphy assignment because it contains a religious message that has no real meaning to the students other than the artistic value? That students should not learn about other cultures? Seriously that is really narrow minded. This is teaching ABOUT religion and culture, not trying to convert kids. And kids can bring Bibles to public school and they can say Merry Christmas so not sure where you are going with that.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)Is "There is no God but Allah?" the only phrase that can be written in Caligraphy? Why not "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog"? The fact that you don't see how problematic this is shows the utter blind spot some liberals have.
No fucking religious proclamations in school, period! I don't give a shit what religion it is! You can teach religion and culture without the sly bullshit of trying to get something over on everyone.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)Some people 
marble falls
(57,073 posts)... believe in the same G*D fer the love of Pete.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)I am suspect of that.
yellowcanine
(35,699 posts)This was a severe overreaction on the part of both the objectors and the school. This does not appear to be an attempt to proselytize for Islam. Given the sensitivities I would have simply suggested to the teacher that she/he find an alternative assignment which had no religious meaning.
And if the example you gave were written in calligraphy I would say the same thing.
former9thward
(31,973 posts)LOL. So that was the only possible phrase the teacher could find in Arabic... Right... What if she had students copy Bible verses as a way of learning English? This place would be on fire about that.
yellowcanine
(35,699 posts)The translation was not given to the students. The assignment is clearly focused on the artistic value of the calligraphy. You and the parents are grossly overreacting.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)So while the students aren't given an exact translation - they are told that it is the Islamic statement of faith, a phase one could Google in ten seconds and find the translation.
Why use a statement of religious faith for the calligraphy example?
Seems like it would be easy enough to choose something else.
Person 2713
(3,263 posts)
underpants
(182,752 posts)former9thward
(31,973 posts)So let's teach English by having students recite John 3:16. Ok with that? Again on this board Islam must not be offended no matter what. These are 9th graders and every single one of them knew what the phrase meant. They can use google like anyone else.
underpants
(182,752 posts)That Islam does alone idolatry so the walls of mosques are decorated with calligraphy such as...
It's clear in the news report.
GummyBearz
(2,931 posts)"Islam does alone idolatry so the walls of mosques are decorated with calligraphy such as..."
what does that even mean? Well, I can make a number of guesses, but making students pledge loyalty to a religion in class is against all I was taught as an American, no matter the religion or the artistic way it is expressed.
underpants
(182,752 posts)"Islam does not allow idolatry......"
treestar
(82,383 posts)to those parents' anti-intellectualism.
treestar
(82,383 posts)And it is one possible phrase.
I seriously doubt the teacher was trying to convert the children to Islam. Is there any proof of that?
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)I suspect the tone here would be quite different.
treestar
(82,383 posts)or reading about it.
Would writing the Hail Mary turn a kid into a Catholic?
Handwriting is not as much a part of the culture here, so that wouldn't come in. It's a much bigger part of Islam. There's not even a separate printing method.
Again I don't see that this was an attempt to convert the students to Islam. And it was part of the World Geography Curriculum, so the teacher only took it from that. There would have been a rationale for the writing in the curriculum. Not to get the student to believe it, just to get them to learn how important calligraphy is in Islam.
Most of us learned about Christianity in church, so there was not so much need to teach its history or existence in school, but if there was, there is no reason a student could not learn what the Hail Mary said and why the Christians say it. I learned about the Reformation in high school English History and my parents (Catholic) never pitched a fit about me learning what the Protestants said and did and what they believed was wrong in Catholicism.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)I am sure it is a situation on fairness. A lot of schools have banned certain things that can be done like having Christmas parties, celebrating birthdays, a silent moment ect. Then some get offended if another religion is given a pass. I am not saying this is what the school has done but some parents seem to believe that. I'd actually think it would be cool to celebrate it all. Reintroduce the Christmas party, celebrate the daily Hanukkah, and kwanza. I think it would give kids a better view of things. But the schools decided overall to hide all of them.
former9thward
(31,973 posts)Do they have them read the Bible? Would you be ok with that? Arabic has a lot of words. I doubt it is a coincidence that phrase is the only one the teacher could find. Would you be ok with the school teaching John 3:16?
treestar
(82,383 posts)I think the only reason it doesn't happen is that the country has until very recently been majority Christian, so nobody thought it was a necessary class to take. It is part of Western culture anyway. I learned about it in church and Sunday school. Would you object to Muslims learning about the Lord's Prayer? In fact wouldn't we criticize Muslims countries for not teaching their students about other religions? (Which is likely the case).
Again, writing this out does not turn the student into a Muslim.
It would be like teaching the writings of Marx to high school students. How would we feel about right wing parents who made a big deal out of that?
The whole idea that just hearing about something or even writing it out is going to be a huge influence and cause students to go against the way they were raised is just so superstitious. Reminds me of right wingers saying Obama is a Marxist, since his mother had some Marxist friend. Gives such power to the undesired ideology.
treestar
(82,383 posts)in this country it might not be so objective and we don't need to learn about Christianity as a lot of us are raised in it.
But if you are learning that is what Christians believe, it doesn't turn you into a fundie.
It's like superstition. If my kid recites the Muslim prayer, he/she becomes a Muslim on the spot. How many of these students demanded their parents take them to a mosque now as they are Muslims now?
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)Certainly that will not turn kids Baptists. Glad that's settled.
treestar
(82,383 posts)I don't get the anti-intellectualism here - I expect it from right wingers.
It would be like a school in a Muslim country having the students learn the history of the west, including Christianity, and reading the Lord's prayer to learn what Christians believe.
We don't do it here because it is so much part of the culture nobody needs to learn about its basics in primary school - though colleges would have courses on it that are meant to learn about it, not proselytize.
None of these students has become a Muslim by learning about what Muslims believe.
I am in fact very interested in it lately and have watched a lot of documentaries about it. Still not a Muslim.
yeoman6987
(14,449 posts)No wrong answers there since they are responsible for the education of their kids. If parents want to teach their kids this stuff let them. Ultimately their choice.
Joe the Revelator
(14,915 posts)...the apostles creed in latin?
Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)their handwriting. This is the same thing in a different religion, and it is entirely inappropriate.
This is a gross violation of the students' rights because it is entanglement of religion and state.
I don't know what idiot thought up this exercise, but said idiot needs to be educated a bit.
Students should learn about religions in context of history. Islam is an important religion, and it is part of history. But there is a huge difference between learning about religions and making students write or say statements of religious belief.
Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)There is no way that a public school would ever consider having kids write the Apostle's Creed to practice their cursive!!!! This is a ridiculously obvious violation of the First Amendment. Should this ever get to the SC it would go down 9-0.
In public schools students of all faith backgrounds and none should be able to meet, mix and learn without encountering any barriers of conscience.
The parents are right and the school system should have detected this problem long ago and dealt with it.
There are practically infinite ways to teach about religion in sociology, civics and history without having students recite or write a statement of faith.
treestar
(82,383 posts)is going to convince them. They really think they can control what the kids think when they grow up by restricting what they can learn about. Which is stupid because forbidding anything always draws the kid's curiosity.
Same thing with the writings of Marx - they would have a shit fit because, just reading that is going to turn you into a Marxist.
Has one of those kids said they wanted to become a Muslim? No. It's like superstition to be against them learning about what Muslims believe.
whatthehey
(3,660 posts)Children can bring in bibles and pray on their own or in groups, and they can definitely say whatever holiday greeting they want. The only thing that Engel and Abington School District declared unconstitutional was mandatory official-led prayer, which yes would include any class activity writing the Shahada. I used to give apeeches at high schoold quite a bit. I never walked into one without a bible study group notice in fact half the time that's who I was talking to. Just had to be led by students, as it should be. The only times you'll ever see such groups banned is when non-Christian groups sought to start their own clubs and 1A forced school districts to accept all or none. They often decide to choose the latter to prevent non-Christians sharing official recognition. I get the news feeds on this and I am unaware of ANY example in the reverse, where non-Christian religious groups were permitted untril Christian kids wanted equality. There are almost no court-sanctioned limitations on student religiosity at all beyond the otherwise illegal or impermissible. The whole legal issue around religion in public schools is to protect them from religion being enforced by authorities, not to restrict their own beliefs.
Christians are supposed to care about the 9th commandment, no?
Mariana
(14,854 posts)that children aren't allowed to pray while they're school at all or to bring Bibles there. Preachers, Faux, and RW radio spread these lies and gullible Christians believe them. Of course, a lot of Christians want to believe them, so they can feel persecuted.
Nevernose
(13,081 posts)underpants
(182,752 posts)The instructions state that idolatry is not allowed so they use calligraphy.
The level of COLLECTIVE FREAK OUT is the story here, to me.
TipTok
(2,474 posts)It is no preference or proselytizing...
You can talk about Greek myths and how they influenced Greek and modern western culture and you can do the same for the Christian and Islamic myths...
You can't fully appreciate English literature without a basic knowledge of the bible.
lancer78
(1,495 posts)You can bring a Bible and read it during school "On your own time", like lunch time or before class. Students are also allowed to have bible clubs as long as other religions can have their own clubs and they do not proselytize.
WhaTHellsgoingonhere
(5,252 posts)that teacher is an idiot. There's an ulterior motive, don't care what point they were trying to make.
TipTok
(2,474 posts)It was from the textbook and had been done several times before but all of a sudden...
WhaTHellsgoingonhere
(5,252 posts)Lots of blame to go around.
exboyfil
(17,862 posts)They can pray as a group on their own time, they can carry and read a Bible during free reading time, and they can say Merry Christmas to each other. What the school system should not do is to compel any student to recite or write a statement of faith. The school system did err in this writing assignment which was apparently from a workbook created by the teachers (of the district or some other group I am not sure).
yellowcanine
(35,699 posts)Seriously, how is this materially different from what radical (claiming to be Islamic) groups do?
Person 2713
(3,263 posts)
Fla Dem
(23,645 posts)Not sure why all schools had to be shut though.
dixiegrrrrl
(60,010 posts)Called projection....we see in others what we dislike/fear in ourselves.
Which explains the hundreds of years of fundie restrictive religion getting bent of our shape about what NON-MEMBERS of their religion are doing.
We are just in Crusades mode again.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Let's say a teacher at a Taliban school (if they actually allow schools these days) or another radical (claiming to be Islamic) school decided to give a lesson in Latin by having all of the students write a sentence of Christian affirmation.
Pretty sure one or more people would end up sentenced to death (or worse) in that scenario.
Rex
(65,616 posts)9/11 really did fuck up a lot of minds in this country.
ananda
(28,856 posts)Off with her head!
... These people are real pieces of work, eh. What scares me
the most is that this is representative of way too many
communities in America these days.
Jnclr89
(128 posts)good luck with that.
rexcat
(3,622 posts)the obvious sarcasm and welcome to DU.
ProfessorGAC
(64,990 posts)But, person is new to DU, and probably doesn't know the tone of GD. Won't take long, and they'll get it.
GeorgeGist
(25,319 posts)Carry on.
yuiyoshida
(41,831 posts)
Person 2713
(3,263 posts)Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)Person 2713
(3,263 posts)to the area religious beliefs , their form of writing or contributions to math and science because Muricans are scared
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Surely, there is a better way to teach people about other faiths without forcing them to write a statement affirming their belief in that faith.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)What "force" was used?
oberliner
(58,724 posts)The assignment was to copy that affirmation in Arabic, presumably as a means of learning how to draw the calligraphy of the language.
I'm suggesting that if the assignment is designed merely to illustrate the calligraphy, why not do so with something that does not involve literally writing out the Declaration of Faith?
One can learn about that declaration in the context of learning about Islam, of course - but it seems odd to require each student to write it out in this context when any other phrase could have just as easily been used.
It would be like making each student write out: "Jesus Christ is my personal Lord and Savior" in Latin as a way of demonstrating the artistry of the traditional Latin script.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)What's the threat of writing anything? Will the kiddies suddenly yearn to wear burkas or, in the case of Latin, don cassocks?
This fear of words is downright pathetic.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Certainly there are people who will make this into a much bigger issue than it really is. I myself don't think it is a huge deal, but I can understand the objection.
I just personally don't see why it would be necessary for students to be required to write a declaration of religious faith as opposed to "The fox jumped over the dog" or something more innocuous like that in order to get a sense of the calligraphy.
Similarly, if students were required to write a statement affirming their belief in Jesus Christ in the context of learning about Latin script, I could see non-Christians not being altogether comfortable with that.
Tierra_y_Libertad
(50,414 posts)While I agree that it's a rather ridiculous "issue" based on the ignorant objections of some people, it is necessary to protect the freedom of thought..however uncomfortable.
TeddyR
(2,493 posts)But the teacher made a serious error in judgment here. She asked students to write the Muslim statement of faith in an assignment at a public school (and apparently invited them to try on a hijab). She could have used a line from the Arabian Nights or any other writing that wasn't a religious one. As others mentioned, if she asked students to write "I am the lord thy God you shall have no other gods before me" then there would have been an uproar from folks on here about Christianity in schools.
Person 2713
(3,263 posts)Hades a banned concept ?What about the Egyptian book of the dead ? My kids had an assignment to write/ copy text from a temple banner . It contained Egyptian God names
So shut it down now!!
The ancient Egyptians believed that writing was invented by the god Thoth and called their hieroglyphic script "mdju netjer" ("words of the gods"
. Proof it is a sin !
It has to go and if they even can find it on a map wait until they see where ancient Egypt was!!
Home school if you don't want your kids to know about other cultures and their texts
Plenty in that same social studies book about The rise of Christianity through the Middle Ages
Why can't they learn about other religions?
TeddyR
(2,493 posts)I didn't say students shouldn't learn about other religions, and I didn't express support for the individuals who complained. In fact, I said the reactions were completely over the top. My point is that there is an unlimited amount of other phrases that would have been more appropriate for a geography class than the Muslim statement of faith and the teacher made a poor decision. I suppose you'd be ok if the teacher asked kids to write "I am the Lord thy God you shall have no other gods before me" when teaching about Israel?
And of course students should learn about other cultures in geography class. If people had a better understanding of others we'd have fewer problems today.
Person 2713
(3,263 posts)Or should they not copy the real text to gods and instead use have a nice day on the banner
That book has an entire chapter about Catholic monasteries in the Middle Ages and their practices
Multiple sections on Christianity through the Middle Ages and has been out since the late 90s early 00s
treestar
(82,383 posts)How do you study the history of England for example without hearing a lot about Christianity and the Catholic Church? I took that in high school. I was raised Catholic and was exposed to all the awful things the Protestants had to say about the Church! And no parent said a single thing.
In junior high, we did a long study on Greek and Roman mythology. I never became a worshipper of Zeus, imagine that.
It's getting out of hand.
MH1
(17,595 posts)In fact, in a class about world religions, it is perfectly fine for the teacher to say something like "the core statement of faith in Islam is ..." and then recite it - as long as he/she does the same for other religions, and doesn't ask students to recite it. I think it would also be fine to have it as the answer on a multiple choice test to a question like that. Or better, give that statement and the question asks for what religion that is the main statement of faith ... make it one of those matching things where various religious statements have to be matched to the religion they belong to. See, there are MANY ways to teach world religions, that don't involve the student having to write or recite something they may find objectionable.
Asking students to write out a statement that will obviously conflict with the actual religion and upbringing of a great many - that is clearly wrong and should not have passed a curriculum review.
bhikkhu
(10,715 posts)...on the order of placing your hand on your heart and saluting the flag, "under god", and all that. We do worse things than make kids copy texts in school, though they seem like good things to many.
For the record, I was uncomfortable with pledging my allegiance when I was young, and took a great deal of flack for refusing to do so. Going through the motions prior to knowing all the facts necessary for the commitment seemed like hypocrisy to me. I would have also probably refused to copy the text given in the OP, but there is certainly some uneducated hypocrisy in requiring kids to do the one while fearing the other.
TipTok
(2,474 posts)... and asked how it would feel to wear that all the time in public.
What the hell is wrong with people?
Throd
(7,208 posts)Person 2713
(3,263 posts)which it does, they should remove all authentic references also? Black out crosses etc?
Same people would be outraged
FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)Absolutely, teach religious history and modern sociology. However, there should be NO statements of faith - ANY faith - even if the student has no awareness of what they are saying or writing.
underpants
(182,752 posts)And still lives there. One of the concerns, other than the increasing anger level, was that they were being flooded with email and calls and they were concerned that they would miss an actual threat.
The person I know in Augusta county said that this has been part of the curriculum for years. Because, well, studying culture is part of geography.
Person 2713
(3,263 posts)isolationism do not try to understand others just know they are trying to get in your head
Paranoia Don't say or write their texts for fear of what it can do to you
Reality half the book deals with Christian culture spread throughout Europe
This old middle school book is all of a sudden outrageous and plenty here agree look away from other cultures they could seize your brains and soul in one chapter study or related art project
One wonders when some museums will have protests for certain exhibits of other cultures religious texts , idols of worship as art etc. or stop school field trips
Most major museums are in large metro areas so hopefully not any important ones, but Virginia is not that far from DC
underpants
(182,752 posts)It's almost like they wanted to do this because:
A. Everyone's doing it (media fed)
B. They wanted to get their time on air (media craved)
This report shows the assignment and it is specific to mosques and the use of calligraphy instead of idolatry.
http://wtvr.com/2015/12/17/augusta-county-schools-closed-friday-after-parental-outrage-over-arabic-assignment/
Person 2713
(3,263 posts)You would actually have to understand the lack of idolatry in mosques as a cultural difference just like the SAME book talks about the changes br out by Luther and Protestant reformation to Christianity to actually understand the assignment
That is asking a lot of our current population
And in the mosques they want the Arabic writings to say the cow jumped over the moon because if you write what it really said to see how their writing form has some background history it is a conversion not understanding
I was able to peek in one time while traveling and was amazed at the simpleness in the hall area for meditation / prayer. All the beauty is on the outside areas but that area for prayer has just calligraphy above on the walls
Didn't convert me by the new understanding I gained and as I wrote earlier my kids did a temple banner citing ancient Egyptian gods in hieroglyphics so where does it begin and end ?
Thanks for the link looks like law told them for the safety of children due to threats close the schools
Have to wonder if it was these dozens mentioned in your link or the whole area against it
On Tuesday night, dozens of people met at Good News Ministries to voice their own opinion.
Herndon has not sent her child back to school since the incident happened last week.
“I will not have my children sit under a woman who indoctrinates them with the Islam religion when I am a Christian, and I'm going to stand behind Christ," Herndon said.
underpants
(182,752 posts)This, surprise!, became yet another victimization of Christians thing. My contact in Augusta tells me that there were so many messages they were worried that there could be an actual direct threat and they might miss it not being able to review all the messages before school started this morning.
Person 2713
(3,263 posts)assignments my kids did . Like I said wait till spring when they move to Japan in the book maybe the Shinto rituals they learn can help purify their collective minds
Waldorf
(654 posts)FrodosPet
(5,169 posts)Write out the following:
Romans 10 Verse 9 - Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
Nope. Anything else, fine. But not statements or confessions of faith. Not for Christianity, and not for Islam.
It's not Islamophobia. It's called respecting religious neutrality in public schools. Christians aren't the only group who needs to understand that.
The collective freak-out here if the assignment had been to write, "Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me," would have been epic.
What's good for the goose . . .
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)
GummyBearz
(2,931 posts)You dont want to be a bigot, do you??
Yo_Mama
(8,303 posts)be using recitation or copying of prayers or creeds.
The kids have to learn about these things. It passes the bounds of religious neutrality to be forced to recite or write them.
Nor was this meaningless to the students - they were told that it was the shehada - the "confession of faith" in the exercise.
treestar
(82,383 posts)would in fact not object to that, which would be inconsistent of them.
Does this neutrality involve not learning about the religions? If so, how can one teach a class on the Reformation?
LittleBlue
(10,362 posts)be outraged if Muslim students were forced to write a declaration of Christian faith. Absurd.
There are dozens of examples of Arabic calligraphy the teacher could have chosen.
deathrind
(1,786 posts)So if it gets written...suddenly it makes it true...ok
Matrosov
(1,098 posts)They weren't just copying any calligraphy, they were copying the shahada, the Islamic declaration of faith one must make to become a Muslim. "There is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger."
It is the equivalent of teaching children in Saudi Arabia about the Latin alphabet by having them write "Jesus is my Lord and Savior."
I doubt that would go over very well in Saudi Arabia. Having children write "Jesus is my Lord and Savior" wouldn't even go over very well with many parents in the US.
Yes, it was an overreaction by the school, but people are also being extremely disingenuous when they try to argue the complaints are about students seeing the shahada or being exposed to Muslim culture. No, it's about essentially making them give a declaration of faith.
Yorktown
(2,884 posts)This:
And this:
JCMach1
(27,555 posts)...that is all...
Maybe we should be a little less thin-skinned.
GummyBearz
(2,931 posts)We could reciprocate by putting on a play about a Wahhabi style stoning of a woman who got raped out of wedlock. Two cultures share their traditions and all is good
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)JCMach1
(27,555 posts)along with US anyway.
Executions for anything are relatively rare in the UAE. They are corporatists politically... executions are bad for business.
climber3986
(107 posts)In UAE the penalty for apostasy is death.
In UAE the penalty for getting raped is going to jail.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/20/world/meast/uae-norway-rape-controversy/
Good to see you use this country as a model though.
kcr
(15,315 posts)JCMach1
(27,555 posts)What I said was the UAE's corporatist outlook usually means that even when (and if) people get arrested under laws like these, they rarely suffer more than just a little jail time.
In the modern version of Sharia, it would require direct witnesses, or pretty air-tight forensic evidence to indicate rape for them to be able to prosecute the case against a man for rape.
Having said that, UAE laws and family law in-general are currently at about the level the US was in the 1950's ...
For example, I had college students who were suffering abuse by their families. There isn't even an agency, or proper laws to deal with these issues.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_United_Arab_Emirates
kcr
(15,315 posts)Wow.
Matrosov
(1,098 posts)It's not too different from Christianity honoring Moses and Judaism.
However, I'd rather let the parent decide to which faith their children should profess than having the school decide.
louis-t
(23,288 posts)the children were asked to write a bible verse, there would be no threats, and very, very few complaints from parents.
ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)If one child or one parent complained, I'd stand up for them and say they were absolutely right, even if no one else in town gave a shit. I would see right through that crap.
No religious proclamations in public school. Period.
Throd
(7,208 posts)grossproffit
(5,591 posts)
Fla_Democrat
(2,547 posts)
grossproffit
(5,591 posts)
kcr
(15,315 posts)First of all the context would matter. If the teacher is only having them write bible verses, the context would be clear, right? It's not as if that isn't done in American schools all the time, particularly in the South. It's a very real problem that still exists. How many other religions do the same thing? It's more accurate to say that the parents throwing a fit would have no problem if they were bible verses. The complaining is just sour grapes.
JCMach1
(27,555 posts)Of course, my Atheist daughters had to do the National Anthem every morning...
UAE National Anthem meaning in English
Long live my country, live United, our Emirates
Your life for your people
Whose religion is Islam and whose guide is the Quran
We fortify you with the name of Allah, oh my homeland
My country, my country, my country, my country
Allah protects you from evil throughout time
Each of us swears to build you and work for you
Our work is pure, we work in purity
with all our lives, pure & unequivocal
The peace is everlasting and the flag lives on, my Emirates
You are the symbol of the Arab character
Every one of us sacrifices with all of our blood
We sacrifice with our very souls, oh, my homeland
http://emiratesdiary.com/uae-tips/happy-42nd-uae-national-day-let-us-sing-uae-national-anthem#ixzz3uv4Wiukd
TheManInTheMac
(985 posts)Leave calligraphy to the ART teachers.
oberliner
(58,724 posts)I think it is ridiculous for them to close the schools over this, but couldn't the calligraphy have been taught with less overtly religious undertones?
Why not have them copy a statement such as "The fox jumped over the dog" as opposed to "There is no god but Allah and Mohammed was his prophet"?
If there was a Latin class and everyone was required to write an affirmation of Jesus Christ as the Saviour, then I can see how that might rub some people the wrong way.
kwassa
(23,340 posts)
Response to kpete (Original post)
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KitSileya
(4,035 posts)You are saying it would be the equivalent of forcing the students to write "Jesus said, I am the way, the truth and the life" are wrong. It would be the same as saying, "Write this bible verse: 'Amir-leh Eashoa, "Inna-nah, oor-khah oo-sh'rah-rah oo-khayeh' in Aramaic script."
Get your analogies straight, people.
Waiting For Everyman
(9,385 posts)The fact that teachers and administrators don't have enough sense to realize that in advance, tells me that they are not qualified for their jobs.
And assigning that at this time, is like throwing gasoline on a fire. The parents are not at fault, the school is. They get a big FAIL! for this idiocy.
Well, they need to consider different things and go through the whole scenario before finalizing everything in order to keep the status, in check.
Regards,
Marsh
mahatmakanejeeves
(57,391 posts)ismnotwasm
(41,975 posts)Huh
