What I said, Del, is the source is biased as a Klansman at a NAACP meeting. I recognize the superintendent apologized. I think he erred because he was intimidated. What I am saying is let's wait for all the facts. If that means I am stupid, I can live with that.
Did you watch the video? What someone says can be biased, what you see with your own eyes, can't be biased. Did you or did you not see the boys separated from the girls and their authority figures? Did you or did you not see them surrounded by Muslim men? Did you or did you not see them praying with those men?
What I am saying is let's wait for the full story.
A field trip to a mosque put together for students at the Wellesley Middle School last May has sparked a firestorm of controversy that may well mushroom into a lawsuit. Students were brought to the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center to observe and to ask questions about Islamic culture. During the visit, which was filmed by a concerned chaperone, an afternoon prayer service started.
The chaperon alleges that the boys on the trip, who were in 6th grade, were invited to join the prayers. Some boys did in fact join in the prayer services. The officials at the mosque as well as some of the chaperons claim that any student participation was spontaneous and voluntary.What has been established is that a prayer service took place during a public school field trip, and that some students took part in the prayers. The ACLU has not yet assumed a vocal role in the controversy.
The mother who filmed the field trip claims that the boys were invited to step forward and join in the Muslim prayers. The chaperone is planning a lawsuit, and some parents clain that the town of Wellesley has received undeserved publicity. According to the Swellesley Report, local news media has been swarming around the school looking for sound bites.
Wellesley School Superintendent Bella Wong has issued an apology for the incident, in which she stated as follows.
“It was not the intent for students to be able to participate in any of the religious practices,’’ Wong said. “The fact that any students were allowed to do so in this case was an error.’’
There may well have been students whose parents would have taken strong exception to their children participating in the prayer services of another faith. A student in his or her formative years might lack the discernment to appreciate the full implications of what participation in a prayer service might signify. Such awareness should come through study and should be an outgrowth of religious training provided by the families of students.
Wellesley Middle School has sponsored other religious field trips. There is little doubt that better planning is called for. The passions ignited by the Wellesley Middle School field trip to the Islamic Society of Boston Community Center did not flare up in a vacuum. Along with deep underlying similarities between the worldÂ’s faiths are deep seated differences between these faiths as well. Additionally, there are legitimate concerns about terror connections to the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center as reported by Jeff Jacoby in the Boston Globe. The Weekly Standard noted as follows.
“In the following months, the Boston Herald and Boston’s Fox Channel 25 published reports documenting the ISB’s ties with terrorists, terror supporters, and anti-Semites. The Herald reported that members of the ISB’s Board of Trustees had at one time included one of the Islamic world’s most prominent and vocal supporters of terrorism and another gentleman who would become notorious for his anti-Semitic writing. The media also reported that one of the ISB’s eight founders was a genuine terrorist who had since been arrested, convicted, and sent to jail.”
It may be a legitimate goal to promote cross cultural and interreligious tolerance, but there are ample grounds to ask questions and expect answers about who is involved in the mosque and what their agendas might be. Additionally, not wanting oneÂ’s children to join in the services of other faiths is not a mark of bigotry. The controversy surrounding the Wellesley Middle School mosque visit should be studied in the future by educators who appreciate the value of fences as well as bridges between different faith communities.
Read The Full Story: Conroversy Rages Over Wellesley Middle School Trip To Boston Mosque – Indyposted
Conroversy Rages Over Wellesley Middle School Trip To Boston Mosque – Indyposted
