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Schools in VA Shutting Down because of Islam Homework Assignment

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Jhhnn said:
You mean that Christian Fundies need to get over themselves?

As has been pointed out, it was just an exercise in the art of calligraphy. Students were not asked to translate it. It might as well have been a drawing of a dog or an assignment to copy this-


But, of course, haters gotta have somebody to hate & muslim hate is the new black in right wing fashion.
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fuck me can you troll any harder? you hate on christians more than anybody here but find nothing wrong with this shit?
 
OutHouse said:
sounds like a ignorant teacher that should be teaching a art class not a world culture class .
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for the 3rd time:

"The calligraphy assignment came from a workbook created by teachers called "World Religions." It was not an assignment LaPorte made up herself. The instructions for the assignment said, "Here is the shahada, the Islamic statement of faith, written in Arabic. In the space below, try copying it by hand. This should give you an idea of the artistic complexity of calligraphy."

and:

"Initial reaction from some Christian parents included calls for LaPorte's firing for "violating children's religious beliefs." However, both the Virginia Department of Education and Augusta County Superintendent Eric Bond have reviewed the material and found it in line with state standards and said the lesson did not violate student rights."

http://www.newsleader.com/story/news...ey=&autologin=
 
SP33Demon said:
Teaching calligraphy is fine, just don't involve islam. There, now that wasn't so hard was it?
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Hey, it was only a world religion class to begin with. I would have used a different phrase, myself.

Seems more like whoever recommended it to be used in the classroom to begin with should be catching any heat.

That wasn't hard, was it ?
 
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OutHouse said:
fuck me can you troll any harder? you hate on christians more than anybody here but find nothing wrong with this shit?
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More Wah. Fundie-whacks are but a small % of Christians.

If this little uproar isn't about conditioned xenophobia & religion, then what is it about?
 
Victorian Gray said:
for the 3rd time:

"The calligraphy assignment came from a workbook created by teachers called "World Religions." It was not an assignment LaPorte made up herself. The instructions for the assignment said, "Here is the shahada, the Islamic statement of faith, written in Arabic. In the space below, try copying it by hand. This should give you an idea of the artistic complexity of calligraphy."

and:

"Initial reaction from some Christian parents included calls for LaPorte's firing for "violating children's religious beliefs." However, both the Virginia Department of Education and Augusta County Superintendent Eric Bond have reviewed the material and found it in line with state standards and said the lesson did not violate student rights."

http://www.newsleader.com/story/news...ey=&autologin=
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Why are you confusing him by introducing facts into this thread?
 
SP33Demon said:
Teaching calligraphy is fine, just don't involve islam. There, now that wasn't so hard was it?
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It's a world religion class! What don't you get about that? How do you teach a world religion class without teaching about Islam?

Now that I hope that you understand the above, as in it would be ludicrous to even attempt, and since they were in fact on subject what exactly is the potential harm to the students? Do you think scribbling some stuff that they can't read is going to make them convert to Islam or something? Hell the rest of the class not involving the assignment has a much higher likelihood and that's still virtually zero.
 
Blue_Max said:
Which one teaches and promotes beheading?
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How many Muslims in the US have beheaded anyone? I haven't heard of any myself so they must be sucking ass at teaching and promoting beheading.

Now which ones messiah teaches and promotes acceptance and turning the other cheek? Not to mention that Americans within the US are far likelier to be injured or killed by a Christian than a Muslim but don't let them silly facts get in the way of your bullshit.
 
Darwin333 said:
How many Muslims in the US have beheaded anyone? I haven't heard of any myself so they must be sucking ass at teaching and promoting beheading.

Now which ones messiah teaches and promotes acceptance and turning the other cheek? Not to mention that Americans within the US are far likelier to be injured or killed by a Christian than a Muslim but don't let them silly facts get in the way of your bullshit.
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The real issue here is that had this assignment been "Thou shalt have no other gods before me" written in Greek, there would be no issue. This has nothing to do with separation of church and state and everything to do with xenophobia.
 
Maybe not the best phrase to pick for an assignment but nothing wrong with teaching about other religions. And those that threatened the school should be prosecuted. They are just as bad as any other nutjob threatening someone or an institution.

For those saying that Christians then complain about Bible verses being removed from school plays or would be advocating for the use of certain verses elsewhere.....the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Sadly, people know this all too well. Whether it is Fundy Christians or whatever "flavor of the day" outrage, the people crying the most get the attention.
 
I know its a religious class, but one should not have to write statements that expresses a renouncement of their own religion, if not Islam.

It's amazing that there are not any other phrases in Islamic teachings besides.. There is no god but Allah.
 
BoberFett said:
So the OP would have been totally cool with a class teaching Christian bible verses?
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The OP might have, but someone of Islamic or Jewish faith would probably have sued the school district for religious persecution or something. You know, like the parents of the clock kid.
 
The phrase should have been
"Hello wold, live and let live"

Or if the teacher wanted a longer sentence, add
"Violence is not the answer to your problems"

But why they should teach any language but English in the US is beyond me. Pardon my ignorance if I am wrong!
 
NetGuySC said:
I know its a religious class, but one should not have to write statements that expresses a renouncement of their own religion, if not Islam.

It's amazing that there are not any other phrases in Islamic teachings besides.. There is no god but Allah.
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So a Hindu child reciting the pledge of allegiance in the same school would be renouncing their own religion, per your logic. Therefore the pledge should be banned or at the very least amended?
 
ultimatebob said:
The OP might have, but someone of Islamic or Jewish faith would probably have sued the school district for religious persecution or something. You know, like the parents of the clock kid.
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Since it was a "world religion" class I'd be willing to wager that they did in fact teach bible quotes. It's kinda hard to teach a world religion class without touching on any of the religions that have been mentioned.
 
SP33Demon said:
Because Christmas isn't responsible for 9/11 and 48 American deaths on our soil since 2001. People aren't that stupid.
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16 deaths per year or 240 deaths since 2001 contributed to putting up Christmas decorations. 11,000 ER visits per year due to christmas tree fires or decorating for christmas. Where is your outrage? If you want to start talking deaths, terrorism in the US is a paltry number. Be afraid though, government, media, and the terrorists like you that way.
 
Subyman said:
16 deaths per year or 240 deaths since 2001 contributed to putting up Christmas decorations. 11,000 ER visits per year due to christmas tree fires or decorating for christmas. Where is your outrage? If you want to start talking deaths, terrorism in the US is a paltry number. Be afraid though, government, media, and the terrorists like you that way.
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This. Terrorism is certainly a problem that we must address, but we need to do so intelligently, proportionately. Terrorists win when we respond with fear instead of reason.
 
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