Monday, February 25, 2013

Texas Teacher Encourages High School Students to Wear Burqas

I wonder if students will also be encouraged not to be friends with Jews and Christians (Qur'an 5:51), and to regard Jews and Christians as "the worst of creatures" (Qur'an 98:6), and to violently subjugate Jews and Christians (Qur'an 9:29), and to kill anyone who leaves Islam (Sahih al-Bukhari 6922), and to beat women into submission (Qur'an 4:34), and to have sex with prepubescent girls (Qur'an 65:4), and to rape female captives (Qur'an 4:24). If you're going to teach kids what it's like to follow Muhammad, at least give them an accurate picture.

Texas Students Don Burqas
Texas (FoxNews)—A Texas lawmaker is launching an investigation after a teacher reportedly invited female students to dress up in Islamic garb and then told her classroom they should call Muslim terrorists – freedom fighters.

State Sen. Dan Patrick, chairman of the senate education committee, told Fox News he is very disturbed by the photograph as well as reports that students were exposed to a story that blamed Egypt’s turmoil on democracy – rather than the Muslim Brotherhood.

“Parents are very sensitive to any issue that seems to be anti-American – that blames democracy for some sort of trouble in the world,” he said.

The lesson on Islam was taught in a world geography class at Lumberton High School. The teacher brought burqas and other Islamic clothing for the female students to wear. They were also assigned to write an essay based on a Washington Post story that blamed Egypt’s troubles on democracy – instead of the Muslim Brotherhood.

“I am outraged,” one of the parents, who asked not to be identified, told Fox News. “I felt my blood pressure go through my head.”

The parent said she was not aware of the lesson until she discovered a photograph of her 14-year-old daughter wearing a burqa on Facebook.

“As parents we should have been made aware this

“I felt like the line had been crossed,” she told Fox News. “Christian kids who want to pray have to do it outside of school hours – yet Islam is being taught to our kids during school hours.”

Sen. Patrick said he understands why the parents are upset.

“Could you imagine if someone asked a Muslim student to dress up as a priest,” the senator asked. “The parents of a Muslim student might be rather upset about that.”

The young girl’s father wondered why the teacher was giving children lessons about Islam in a geography class. “She went from learning about Mexico to learning about Russia to learning about Islam,” he said. “Islam is not a country. Islam is not a continent.”

The parents said they confronted their daughter and told her to explain exactly what she had been taught.

“They were asked about their perception of Islam,” she said. “Most of the class said they thought about terrorism. And her response was, ‘we’re going to change the way we perceive Islam.’” (Continue Reading.)

12 comments:

Koala Bear said...

Frightening.

Soldier Of Christ said...

a teacher reportedly invited female students to dress up in Islamic garb and then told her classroom they should call Muslim terrorists – freedom fighters.

This "teacher" can only be a "Muhammad" or "Abdallah".

Excalibur said...

How do post pictures here. Its Islamic Awareness Week in my school. I want to post a picture of the ridiculous propaganda filled schedule.

Anonymous said...

@excalibur
my uni has them too but do you know that the Catholics set up their are at same time. last year they we had one that went and challenged the catholic while i was discussing some difference between protestants and them. best verse is in john where Thomas says to Jesus " my lord my god"

also good to have a go at some early church history and challenging them on if the bible was corrupted.

taomeano said...

America has to wake up and put a stop to this nonsense.

surj said...

The way the things are going in USA, I thing USA is doomed see www.thereligionofpeace.com and www.compassdirect.org

Unknown said...

What’s the issue? I can identify three potential issues:

1. Students were taught culture in a geography classroom.
2. Female students encouraged to wear burqas.
3. The political views of the teacher were part of the classroom curriculum.

If the issue is why particular cultures form part of the curriculum in a geography class, I can register minimal agreement. Often geography is closely related to history, nationality and/or culture, and history, nationality, and/or culture is often closely related to religious beliefs/practices. Try teaching geography of “North America” without reference to the Puritans, the year 1776, the Civil Rights movement, or technological advances like the television or IPOD and see how far you get with high school students. Try teaching geography of early 20th century India without reference to the Raj or cultural artifacts like the caste system and see how far you get with collegiate-level students. If the students were being exposed to various cultures and for each culture encouraged to wear cultural/religious clothing, I don’t see the problem. What, then, is the problem apart from *Muslim culture* being taught and *Muslim attire being encouraged to be put on* in a public school geography classroom?

As for 2, so what if the students were encouraged to wear burqas! They were encouraged, not coerced, to wear them. What’s wrong, per se, with that? In fact, encouraging students to wear the burqa might encourage them never to wear it, and never to embrace Islam. How’s that for irony?

As for 3, I agree and sympathize with their concern. Too bad the title of the news clip doesn’t say much about it.

Search 4 Truth said...

@ Derrick

1. The culture is related to religious practice and commands from their God


Quran (33:59) - "Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them..."


Qur'an (33:55) - "It shall be no crime in them as to their fathers, or their sons, or their brothers, or their brothers’ sons, or their sisters’ sons, or their woman, or the slaves which their right hands possess, if they speak to them unveiled"

2. The teacher is in a position of power. And to not partake or to show an unwillingness to partake could result in a bad grade. Wanting to satisfy the teacher in order to get a good grade. It is a way to introduce the religious practices of a particular religion, Islam! It is a type of coercion when a person is in a position of power to encourage a particular behavior. The result being if they did not partake or showed disdain or a problem with it may cause repercussions.

3. She also encouraged the children to call the terrorists freedom fighters.

All you do is make excuses for your Ummah. And you NEVER engage in any discussion about Islamic doctrine or Mohameds sunnah! This was inappropriate. Lets say we have Muslim children dress as witches. Because they were speaking of the Salem witch trial. Or Hindus when speaking about India. Lets see how far that gets in the Muslim community!

Unknown said...

Search 4 Truth,

I understand coercion as the act (or speech act) to compel by force or authority without regard of the coercee’s wishes or desires. How is encouragement an act of coercion?

Make excuses for my ummah? I thought we were talking about a non-Muslim teacher in a secular school inviting non-Muslim (or even Muslim) students to put on burqas as part of a class activity? And just for the record, I taught for years at an Islamic school. On several occasions I invited my students to dress as book characters (religious or non-religious), religious figures (clerical authority, nuns, Sikhs – you name it!), as well as encouraged students in one of my history classes to take a trip to see Cathedral decorum and stained glass windows. Thankfully I wasn’t hounded out of my profession by a vocal mob or accused of trying to shove Christian beliefs down the throats of my students.

Search 4 Truth said...

@ Derrick

I explained this already. Denial is not a rebuttal. They used the word encouragement. That does not negate the fact that she was in a position of power and that if they did not follow her wishes it would have been frowned upon. Yes you are making excuses at every turn.

I dont know if you did or you didnt do those things. Let me guess. If you did do those things, which I highly doubt. It was done in the West. In what instance would you find yourself encouraging children to dress as religious figures from other religions? That is preposterous! The fact remains that it is a religious practice of wearing the burqa. It is found in the Quran and you didnt even answer to the fact that she encouraged the children to call them freedom fighters. Where did you get the idea she was a non Muslim? I havent seen that report. Or is that an attempt at deception?

Texas public schools have come under fire again. This time, a teacher allegedly encouraged high school girls to dress up in full-length Islamic burqas and then instructed the entire class that Muslim terrorists are actually freedom fighters.
The incident occurred in a world geography class at Lumberton High School in the small town of Lumberton, Texas. The general topic of the class that day was Islam.
An unnamed student informed WND that the teacher said, “We are going to work to change your perception of Islam.”
“I do not necessarily agree with this,” the teacher also allegedly said, “but I am supposed to teach you that we are not to call these people terrorists anymore, but freedom fighters.”
The controversial lesson came from a lesson plan provided by CSCOPE, an all-embracing, online K-12 educational curriculum used in 80 percent of the school districts in Texas. A rapidly growing chorus of critics charges that CSCOPE is a radical, backdoor way for progressives to circumvent both the Texas legislative process and the desires of local school boards and communities. (Ten shocking things CSCOPE is teaching kids in Texas)
A student in the class told WND that the burqa-related lesson focused mainly on the lives of women in Muslim countries. The enveloping outer face and body covering was treated more or less as a fashion accessory.
Apparently, no mention was made of the fact that women in Saudi Arabia and Iran must wear the garment under threat of arrest and criminal punishment.
At the end of class, the teacher assigned a paper about Egypt. A student explained to WND that the topic of the paper was “how Egypt was a good country until democracy took over, and that things were finally corrected when the Muslim Brotherhood came into power.”

Unknown said...

Search 4 Truth,

I don’t think you know what it means to answer a question. I asked you the following question (slightly amended): how is an invitation to partake in a religious practice an instance of coercion? For all your huffing and puffing you have yet to give me an approximate answer to that question.

It might be news to you, but*every* teacher is in a position of power. That power is conferred by the state or educational institution to indoctrinate or profess. That’s precisely what it means to be a teacher or an instructor. And any teacher worth his/her salt uses that conferred power to indoctrinate. I say ‘indoctrinate’ because to impart knowledge is, by definition, to indoctrinate. Some forms of indoctrination, however, are morally and legally impermissible, and the two I can think of are absent in the case under discussion: coercion and/or intimidation. I don’t mean *perceived* coercion and/or intimidation, I mean *actual* coercion and/or intimidation sufficient enough to get a teacher, as the Brits say, sacked. If a teacher encourages his/her students to partake in a practice (religious or non-religious in nature) it doesn’t follow that the practice is an instance of coercion or intimidation. [I treat 'encouragement' and 'invitation' as one and the same] Encouragement, as I said earlier, is not coercion. For a speech act to be coercive it must possess a threat to inflict penalties on the coercee if s/he fails to comply with the demand. If you have evidence of THAT please put it on the table. There is no evidence in the article David Wood cited or any other report I’ve read that the geography teacher at Lumberton High School imposed some sort of penalty on female students who refused to partake in the activity. So I don’t understand what you mean by showing ‘an unwillingness to partake could result in a bad grade.’ That seems to be figment of your own imaginative capacity.

Moreover, coercion involves getting someone to do a performative that is improper or wrong. All things being equal, of course. That gets back to my original question. What is wrong, in principle, with inviting female students to try on the burqa as part of a class activity? I get the impression from your post you believe there is something wrong with students in school being invited to wear religious attire in general. What is it? I don’t see anything wrong with it, and can’t see why anyone would find it problematic apart from laughable concerns about proselytizing attempts in school.

As for me, I asked my students to wear religious garb to give them a perspective they never had before: a first-person account of what it is like to wear religious attire different from the religious (or non-religious) attire they normally wear. It was an experiment of mine in one of my history classes that worked: I was able to get my Muslim students to, how shall I put it, think outside the box. Of course, I may have ‘crossed the line’ or ruffled someone’s religious sensibilities as a result. However, the activity was, like the activity we’re talking about, voluntary. What makes your stance laughable is precisely what makes it ironic. Despite the ‘preposterous’ activity of getting my students to do something daring like, oh, try on a sikh outfit, the only time I received a complaint as a teacher at that Muslim school was the year I taught Greek civilization. The textbook I used to teach it had nude imagery and one of the parents requested I cover the art. Apart from that no parent objected to my activities or my use of non-Muslim religious scripture. Yet here you are, a ‘Western’-residing freedom lover opting to impose a Sharia-like constraint on teachers. Funny, isn’t it?

Search 4 Truth said...

@ Derrick.

I answered it several times. I will copy and paste it again so you can see the answer. Just because you dont want to accept the answer does not mean I did not answer it!

The teacher is in a position of power. And to not partake or to show an unwillingness to partake could result in a bad grade. Wanting to satisfy the teacher in order to get a good grade. It is a way to introduce the religious practices of a particular religion, Islam! It is a type of coercion when a person is in a position of power to encourage a particular behavior. The result being if they did not partake or showed disdain or a problem with it may cause repercussions.

When a person is in a position of power and they encourage you to do something but you may not want to partake in it but you feel you must because they have power over you. They can determine the outcome of your future in many aspects. In this case your grade, and your future.

DO YOU GET IT NOW OR MUST I REPEAT IT ONCE AGAIN?

No it is not news to me. THATS MY POINT! She took advantage of her position!

YOU ARE WILLFULLY IGNORANT AND A HYPOCRITE!

I dont care if you dont feel that perceived coercion is not your definition. You dont know what the child felt you dont know the relationship. She is indoctrinating the children into her subjective perspective on the so called freedom fighters who are terrorists. She is imposing her views about a religious practice of wearing a burqa and calling people who commit crimes against humanity freedom fighters. Your using relativism and being a hypocrite.

It doesnt matter if there was any penalty or not. Argument from ignorance is not an argument. The perception of all children in a class room is to do as the teacher instructs. And if you do not their may be repercussions. This is common sense and occurs in ALL classrooms. She is indoctrinating them into her world view.

What is wrong with suggesting that children wear religious garb? I will tell you.

SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE! We are not a theocracy. Muslims would go ape if the teacher had their Muslim children dress like Priests or Sikhs or Hindus. And it would be UNCONSTITUTIONAL!

I understand in the Muslim mind and communities there should be a double standard for Muslims and Islam. But thats not how the real world works!

Firstly I dont believe you for a minute. Secondly you were in the West most likely as I pointed out! Thirdly NO I am not acting in a fascist, bigoted Sharia like ideal.

BECAUSE I WANT IT ALL THE SAME FOR EVERYONE! You want double standards for Muslims! If it would be wrong for a Christian teacher to ask the children, including Muslim children to dress as Priests and other religious figures?peoples, it is ALSO wrong and unconstitutional for Muslims to do the same.

And you have deflected from several of my questions and statements. Confirmation bias as usual!


SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE IS FOR ALL! That includes separation of Mosque and state! She can go and do as she pleases in an Islamic school. But not in a public school! Do you even know the laws, why and what they are for?

Its so religion can be an individual thing. A concept that Muslims cannot comprehend or grasp!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_of_church_and_state_in_the_United_States

What I find funny is your spin, lack of consistency and hypocrisy!