Family Sues Public School System Over ‘Islamic Indoctrination’

The parents of a Maryland teenager have launched a lawsuit against their daughter’s public high school, claiming the district forced the 16-year-old to take classes that promote Islam over Christianity and Judaism.  John Wood, a former Marine, and his wife Melissa Wood, have filed a civil rights complaint against La Plata High School, alleging their daughter – identified only as C.W. – spent one day in a modern history class studying Christianity, followed by two weeks immersed in Islam.  According to court documents obtained by The Daily Mail Online, the 11th grader ‘had to profess the Shahada by claiming ”There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”’ ‘Such discriminatory treatment of Christianity is an unconstitutional promotion of one religion over another,’ President and Chief Counsel of the Thomas More Law Center Richard Thompson said. [1] [20]

Thompson claims that, for non-Muslims, reciting such a statement is the equivalent of converting to Islam.  He also said the school failed to clearly make known to students and their families that a study of Islam was to be part of the world history curriculum.  Students were also required to memorize and recite the Five Pillars of Islam and were subjected to disparaging teachings about Christianity, the Woods claim. [1] When the Woods demanded that the school allow their daughter to complete alternative assignments, the school refused, stating that if their daughter would not complete the required homework assignments, she would receive failing grades, the Washington Free Beacon reported. The Woods’ daughter ultimately refused to do the homework. [6] [8] ‘The course also taught false statements such as Allah is the same God worshiped by Christians and Islam is a ”’religion of peace”,’  Thompson said in the filings. [1]  According to copies of classroom assignments, the school taught that “Most Muslims’ faith is stronger than the average Christian.”  They also instructed students that Islam is a peaceful religion and they treated conquered nations with kindness and respect. [5]  The lawsuit, filed in federal court, alleges that students spent only one day studying Christianity and two weeks studying Islam. “During its brief instruction on Christianity, Defendants failed to cover any portion of the Bible or other non-Islamic religious texts, such as the Ten Commandments,” the lawsuit states. “Instead, the class included disparaging remarks about Christianity and the Pope.” Students were also allegedly instructed that “the Islamic religion is a fact while Christianity and Judaism are just beliefs.” [5]

The Thomas More Law Center stated that the Woods, as devout Christians, “believe that it is a sin to profess commitment in word or writing to any god other than the Christian God. Thus, they object to their daughter being forced to deny the Christian God and to her high school promoting Islam over other religions,” according to Southern Maryland Online. The law center also warned other schools against promoting “Islamic indoctrination” in the complaint [6] [20] ‘A school cannot achieve diversity by punishing and alienating students who hold Judeo-Christian beliefs, while bolstering the doctrines and teachings of other religions.  ‘Parents must be ever vigilant to the Islamic indoctrination of their children under the guise of teaching history and multiculturalism.  ‘This is happening in public schools across the country. And they must take action to stop it.’  Additionally, the suit claims that Mr Wood was banned from the school grounds after complaining about the curriculum.  Mr Wood served eight years in the Marine Corps and was deployed in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.  He was also deployed to the Pentagon as a firefighter during the September 11 attacks.  The suit also says that, following Mr Wood’s complaint, he was told his daughter would fail the subject if she were to pull out.   The family is asking for declaratory and injunctive relief barring the promotion of Islam over other religions on school grounds.  They also want the no-trespass order against Mr Wood to be lifted. [1]

The defendants are named in the suit as Charles County Public Schools, the Charles County Board of Education, La Plata High School principal Evelyn Arnold and vice-principal Shannon Morris.  A Charles County Public Schools spokesman refused to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by local newspaper The Bay Net this week.  ‘We are aware of the lawsuit, but we have not yet been served,’ the spokesperson said.  [4] ‘We cannot comment further at this time.’  However, the school did send a statement to WTOP, clarifying the curriculum of their world history class.  ‘The particular unit in question 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,’ the statement said.  ‘Other religions are introduced when they influence or impact a particular historical era or geographic region. For example, when reviewing the Renaissance and Reformation, students study the concepts and role of Christianity.   ‘When learning about the development of China and India, students examine Hinduism and Buddhism.’ [3]

Clearly, our public schools have become indoctrination centers – promoting Islam and marginalizing every other religion. I’ve reported on similar incidents across the country. Why hasn’t the Freedom From Religion Foundation weighed in? What about the American Civil Liberties Union? Their silence is peculiar. We can suspect their reaction would have been a bit different had La Plata High School been baptizing children and forcing them to memorize John 3:16. [5]