Islam
Lessons Prompt Lawsuit
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Islam
Lessons Prompt Lawsuit
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Byron district's lessons
on Islam prompt lawsuit Sat July 6, 2002 A Christian law firm is suing the Byron Union School District alleging that it violated the Constitution by teaching the Islamic religion to students. The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco federal court June 24 by the Thomas More Center for Law and Justice based in Ann Arbor, Mich., on behalf of a family from Byron and another from Discovery Bay. The controversial world history lessons occurred at Excelsior School over a three-week period in October 2001. In a seventh-grade class, students reportedly were required to participate in various simulation exercises, including selecting a Muslim name, wearing traditional Muslim clothing, memorizing Islamic prayers and playing a dice game, which acted out a "jihad," or holy war. Articles on the Internet and talk radio programs fueled the controversy last fall, bringing national attention to the 1,149-student district in East Contra Costa County. On Wednesday, Byron Superintendent Peggy Green said the district had yet to receive a copy of the lawsuit and was surprised by the action. "I don't know where (Thomas More) found the parents, because they've never appealed to us," she said. Richard Thompson, executive director and chief counsel for Thomas More, said the Byron district went far beyond what is acceptable in teaching religion in a public school. The nonprofit law firm specializes in religious issues. "Is this education or indoctrination? You can teach about religion, but you can't cross the line and promote one religion over another," he said. "The textbook and simulation workbook used in Byron and many schools in California crossed way over the constitutional line in regard to religion." While Thompson said many schools statewide use the same seventh-grade history textbook, "Across the Centuries," published by Houghton Mifflin, the suit named only the Byron district because there were parents willing to be plaintiffs. The two families could not be reached for comment Wednesday. The lawsuit asks that the court declare that the Byron district violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment concerning separation of church and state, to bar the district from funding and implementing the Islam simulation portion of the curriculum and to award the plaintiffs monetary damages and legal fees. Guidelines from the California Department of Education's Web site include in its seventh-grade world history curriculum lessons on Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism and other religions. While Green hadn't read the allegations in the lawsuit, she said she stood by her statements earlier in the year. In a January press release, Green said the district is "not teaching religion," but instead "teaching the California state-mandated standards with state-adopted text books." She also said the district had no plans to stop using "Across the Centuries" because it is the only state-approved history textbook for seventh-graders. Thompson said the problem with Byron's lesson on Muslims and Islam was that it was the only one that used simulation exercises. "Our view is that this was an indoctrination; these students were coerced to be part of this to get a good grade," he said. The lawsuit also states that besides wearing a Muslim name around their necks, students were required to learn Islam's Five Pillars of Faith and imitate a requirement of each of those tenets. For instance, the imitation for the fasting of Ramadan asked students to skip a snack or lunch. "The Supreme Court says there's to be no school prayer, no talk of the Bible and no Lord's Prayer in public schools," Thompson said. "Yet in California, they're doing a lot more than that with the Islamic religion." "If it's OK to teach Islam, then it should be OK to teach Christianity." Reach Kelli A. Phillips at 925-779-7139 or kphillips2@cctimes.com |