As President Clinton would say, "that depend on the definition of is" - this sure looks like religious exercise to me:
. . . use Muslim names, recited prayers in class, had them memorize and recite a passage from the Quran and made them give up something for a day, such as television or candy, to simulate fasting during the month of Ramadan.
You're OK with schools requiring the participation of all students in reciting the Lord's Prayer every morning and giving up something for Lent?
Is that what they are doing in the school in the OP? Or is that what happened in another school, so you
assume it is what happens every where?
You're the fellow who made this statement: "they are not praying or practicing the religion." I asked you how you KNOW this to be the case and I cited an instance of a course of studies, upheld by courts, which did involve praying and practicing religion.
I have a factual basis for my position. What is the factual basis for your claim that that there is no prayer or practice of Islam taking place. How do you KNOW THIS?
from:
Conservative dad threatens sh tstorm if daughter s world history class includes Islam
"“This is a world history class,” she
explained. “We are not teaching religion. Part of those world history studies involves the economics of a region and part of that is the religion which relates to the economy of that part of the world. In the Middle East, Islam is the only religion and it contributes greatly to the economics of the region.”"
"Charles County Board of Education member Jennifer Abell posted a statement on Facebook explaining that some people are spreading “misinformation” about the No Trespass order.
“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,” Abell wrote"
That's it? That California school also stated that they're not teaching Islam and the courts backed them up, yet they're reciting prayers, memorizing verses of the Qur'an, and fasting. I don't know what the 9th Circuit uses as the definition of "teaching religion" but apparently reciting prayers and memorizing verses and fasting fall on the side of not teaching Islam.
Sorry, a school official saying that they're not teaching doesn't really back you up.
Yes, as a matter of fact it does. The school official described the course content. That is the issue.
Part of the problem is that any time someone mentions Islam, you get knee-jerk reactions, like the one in this thread that stated "Besides - there are only TWO things children need to know about Islam - the twin towers".
That may suffice for him, but when studying the formation of empires in the middle east, it is a bit lacking.
I doubt yuo could find anyone at these schools who didn't know why Xmas is celebrated, or easter, or the basic tenets of the Christian faith. The same is not true for Islam or Buddhism. So when they study the areas of world history in which those other faiths had a profound effect, some instruction concerning the faiths themselves is necessary.