Public Middle School is forcing non-Muslim students to praise Islam and “Allah as the only god”

*tenets, but yes ... all of this.

CPO (Join to see) - Dude, they are teaching ABOUT a religion, not recruiting for one. Saying "I now pronounce you man and wife" ... even though those words are a 'performative' (words which are when uttered in certain contexts, acts or actions) it does automatically not make it so; you need the setting and the intent and sometimes other elements, like a marriage license or a duly-authorized speaker, in this instance. In the same way, just saying (or writing on a quiz) the words "There is no God but Allah and Muhammed is His Prophet" doesn't make you a Muslim, any more than saying "I am innocent of spreading stupid clickbait" makes it true. If you want to learn more about performatives and word-acts, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Performativity or start with "Words and Things, an Introduction to Language" by Roger Brown. https://www.amazon.com/Words-Things-Roger-Brown/dp/ [login to see]

LOL Love the Clickbait comment.

Ok so you are correct.... but i'm going to throw a devils advocate for you. When you tell a 5th grader that reciting the shahada is how you become a Muslim and then make them recite it and learn the 5 pillars of Islam what do you think they are going to assume?

Why would they even be learning about religion in school in the first place? I learned about Muslims / Jews / Christians / Buddhists / Pagans / and many others out side of school. I learned some Hebrew from the Church we attended. But to teach one or all of the religions in a public school seems costly and time consuming. It also seems to be only the Muslim faith being taught, and a violation of separation of Church and State.

I'm sorry, But Michael Mathews is missing the point. It's not about the points he makes. It's about the Constitution, the Second Amendment, and Freedom of Religion. What is good for one is good for all, in that, if one has the right to require writing a religious statement of affirmation and then verbalizing it, then other religious groups have the same right to do the same thing. One cannot pick and choose which religious groups gets to say or do things from their religious perspective all the while saying others cannot respond in like kind. Somehow Christians in the educational community are prevented from voicing any adherence to their faith, but other religious groups continue to have privileges that Christians are denied. This is a blatant violation of the Constitution. If one can do it, then all can do it. If one is denied, then all are denied. That is the simple basics of Religious Freedom in our country. Individual schools, teachers, Moms or Dad do not get to dictate how that is done. Check out the rulings by the Supreme Court on Religious Liberty and Education.

I still think it was flawed, they should have told the parents what was going on and spread the time among Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. That way no one gets butt hurt over the lessons.

Candy Alkaabi - The public school system needs to learn its place. I do not have a problem with this program, but anything with the potential to provoke controversy should not come as a surprise to parents, and should have an appropriate "opt out" alternative. That is where the school system screwed up.

I had a running battle with the school system. Not over the history of religion, but the "family life" curriculum which tried to school my kids on what their place and responsibilities within my family are. Not their place to introduce their opinion, particularly when they taught that the child's sense of right and wrong was more important than the parents'.

Maj John Bell - ive had similar run ins with them, here there are schools that will teach your kids that if you spank them or threaten to spank them, or even use key phrases, they should call the police, inform cps or tell them. I also had them try to tell me what I should feed my children, down to slipping them unauthorized foods. My eldest had a food sensitivity until she was 7 and I TOLD them not to feed her certain foods. Her teacher gave her an unauthorized food and within minutes I was getting a call that she broke out in hives......they also forced the meat option on her several times (my kids cant handle the regular stuff nor can they eat it for religious reasons) and she cried about it while taking Benadryl (yup its that bad with the meats they serve could be the spices or preparation) which she hates the taste of. My next in lines teacher waited until I was in the hospital after emergency surgery to save my life, to go ahead and do Christmas things with him. She also told my daughter that he HAD to do valentines, even though, I did not give permission. What is the use of sending permission forms home and then ignoring the fact that, not only was it not signed, but a verbal no was given. This teacher did not give a "he/she is not allowed to participate" option on the form.
When I was a child, if you had no signed form, you sat out! If the mother or father verbally said no (no matter how the message was given) it meant no. Thankfully they are in a better school with only a couple of "what the hell" teachers in it and we avoid them like the plague. The school system needs to go back to the way it was when I was younger and stop meddling in our business as parents.

Candy Alkaabi - I concur. Leave the spiritual and the moral to the parents and the academic to the teachers (with an eagle eye from us).