Christian Parents Sue High School After Daughter Learns About Islam in World History Class

Christian Parents Sue High School After Daughter Learns About Islam in World History Class

Christian Parents Sue High School After Daughter Learns About Islam in World History Class
User:Kumba42 [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Parents’ lawsuit claims their daughter profess the Shahada: “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”

Parents of C.W., a Maryland, 16-year-old teenager studying in La Plata High School have started a lawsuit against the educational institution, claiming that the district compelled their daughter to study in classes which promote the Islamic faith over Judaism and Christianity. The parents, John Wood and Melissa Wood, alleged that the school taught Christianity for one day and then two weeks of Islam.

Christian Parents Sue High School After Daughter Learns About Islam in World History Class[/tweetthis]

The court documents reveal that C.W. was forced to profess Shahada through claiming certain Islamic phases which leaned heavily towards the conversion of someone to Islam. Richard Thompson, the Chief Counsel and President of Thomas More Law Center, said that the school discriminates against Christians and it engages in promotion of one religion at the expense of another. According to Thompson, if non-Muslims recite a certain phrase, it is equal to conversion to Islam.

A secular look on the lawsuit immediately reveals that no such discrimination against Christianity exists. The matter could be examined in greater detail by listing the complaints which a number of conservative websites highlight to prove that the school district is indeed biased against Christians.

The first claim made in the lawsuit is that the faith of a Muslim is more robust than any average Christian. If you take a look at the educational document which states this, the claim holds true. It is indeed typed so in the book. However, if you venture further and do a little research, it is found that such a sentence originated from a Ipsos MORI 2011 survey of religious faith taken in a number of Christian and Muslim nations. The result of the survey was that a higher percentage of Muslims asserted that faith played an important role in their lives. The number of Christians claiming so was much smaller.

The second claim concerns the Shahada, where reciting a specific sentence makes any person a Muslim. Similar to the first point, the petitioner has seen ghosts of persecution when none exists. That particular lesson asks students to elaborate on the belief systems of Muslims and not converting them into the Islamic way of life.

The third claim suggests that jihad is a religious duty and holy war in Islam and personal struggle includes spiritual discipline. However, the meaning is misinterpreted. It is a crusade by Muslims for their beliefs or principles.

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