Equal justice under law

This is the complete and verbatim text of an article dated yesterday and updated today on the website of local television station WHDH.  This article is no longer available on their website.

REVERE, Mass. (WHDH) -Some parents in Revere were angry when they learned students were being taught about Islam and the Muslim religion.

"No religion should be taught at school. In their paper it says Allah is their only God.  That's insulting to me as a Christian who believes in just Jesus only," said Anthony Giannino.

A section of the textbook describing the beliefs of Muslims says, "I bear witness that there is no God but Allah."

Giannino immediately pulled his son out of the classroom.

"We don't believe in Allah. I  don't believe in my son learning about this here," he said.  "If my son was from another country and came here, he would have been catered to.  But where he's not being catered to, they give him an F."

The Superintendent of Revere Public Schools wrote the parents a letter explaining that it is simply part of the history in that section of the curriculum, and stated, "I want to be very clear that no religion is taught with the purpose of converting students to that religion..."

Other parents said they had no issue with the assignment.

"What is Muslim about, what is Christianity about.  That's what I teach at home.  Everybody should respect everybody else's religion," said Idalia Garcia.

"When you're talking about a specific region in the world, there's going to be traditions and there's gonna be religions that children should learn about," said Ovidio Raffa.

But some parents said they did not want their kids learning anything about Islam.

"They should also say to you, 'in history, your son is going to learn about Islam,' send out a letter," said Giannino, who also said he was starting a petition and had plenty of supporters.

The supreme law of the United States

Since the students are learning history, they should also learn about the U.S. Constitution, which is an important part of United States history.

This is the entire text of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

This means that Congress cannot pass any law that establishes a religion.

Congress violated this amendment by passing laws that gave money to the Revere Public Schools (and other public school systems) without the appropriate safeguards to prevent the Revere schools from teaching and thus establishing any religion, including Islam.

The first of my education essays

I am the author of six blogs.  One blog, called "I have to say this", has an essay called Reasons to Home-School Your Child, published on June 10, 2013.  At the top of this essay is a press release from the Michigan chapter of a group called the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).  This group objects to, and is trying to prevent any public school from allowing Christian activities.

The press release mentions blank permission slips that were given to elementary school students with instructions for them to have them signed by their parents.  Any parent who signed the permission slips would thus approve of their child taking part in Bible Study classes.

The same group, and in fact, the same chapter of the same group, also demanded that Muslim students should have the right to leave classes during the school day in order to say Muslim prayers.  That press release is also published and linked on my blog essay "Reasons to Home-School Your Child".

The following paragraph is copied from their October 1, 2012 press release.

The Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MI) said today that a Detroit-area school district has apologized for handing out permission slips for Bible study classes to elementary school students.

Social justice

If Muslim students who attend an American public school can pray while in school, then students who belong to any other faith can also pray while they're in school.

If teaching the principles and practices of the Koran is allowed in any classroom in the Revere, Massachusetts Public School System ...

... or in any other public school in America ...

... then I want to see the principles and practices of Judaism taught in the same school system, and to the same group of students ....

They're having fun !

... along with the principles and practices of Christianity, all in the name of history, because each religion has made historical contributions to education, to civilization, and to a peaceful society.

The highest educational principles

American public schools should teach respect for American law.

"It shall be unlawful for any public secondary school which receives Federal financial assistance and which has a limited open forum to deny equal access or a fair opportunity to, or discriminate against, any students who wish to conduct a meeting within that limited open forum on the basis of the religious, political, philosophical, or other content of the speech at such meetings."

- U.S. Code, Chapter 20, Section 4071(a)

This is the first sentence of the mission statement of the U.S. Department of Education.

ED's mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

"... by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access."

Equal access means that Christians, Jews, and Muslims are all treated the same way.  All three groups must have the same right to pray in school.

If Muslims can pray during school time and in city-owned school buildings, then so can Christians and Jews.

If one group is denied this privilege, than no group can have this privilege.

That is equal access, and that is the law.

11/04/14 UPDATE.  Link to an article. A school in California is also teaching Islam.

The last words in this essay were written a long time ago

This is the building where the U.S. Supreme Court does business.

These words are written above the pillars in the front of the building.