Florida School Removes Judaism and Christianity History and Replaces With Islam Advanced Placement history students at one Florida school have plenty of course materials on Islam, including 36 pages in the textbook devoted to the religion. But not so much on Christianity or Judaism — and that has one state lawmaker in an uproar. “The book has a 36-page chapter on Islam but no chapters on Christianity or Judaism,” said Rep. Ritch Workman, in Townhall, about the Prentice World History textbook. “It’s remarkably one-sided. Mr. Workman said the textbook, which has been on the Brevard County schools’ approved course list for three years, also rewrites the history of Islam. He looked through it and found the authors “make a very obvious attempt not to insult Islam by reshaping history,” Townhall reported. “If you don’t see it from the eyes of a parent, kids are going to take this book as gospel and believe that Christians and Jews were murderous barbarians and thank God the Muslims came along and the world is great,” he said, as Townhall reported. Here’s an example: Muhammad and his armies’ take-over of Medina states depicted “people happily accept[ing of] Islam as their way of life. It leaves out that tens of thousands of Jews and non-believers were massacred by [Muhammad’s] armies. It’s a blatant deception.” At the same time, the book depicts Jesus as claiming to be the Messiah — but writes as fact that Muhammad was the prophet, Mr. Workman said in the Townhall article. Students in the class are also taught about the Koran and pillars of Islam. “They don’t do that for Christianity,” he said, as Townhall reported. “That is offensive to me.” At least one member of the school board is similarly alarmed. “Some of the descriptions of the battles use the word ‘massacre’ when it’s a Christian battle and ‘takeover’ when it’s a Muslim battle,” said Amy Kneessy to Fox News. “In young minds, massacre paints a very different visual picture than a takeover or occupation — when in fact both battles were very bloody.” The publisher, Pearson, denied any bias. But Mr. Workman said he was told by a spokesperson for the publisher that a Muslim cleric was hired to write the sections on Islam. The Trouble with Textbooks co-author Dennis Ybarra is interviewed by Fox News in a one-hour documentary: “Do Your Know What Textbooks Your Children Are Really Reading?” broadcast September 4-6. Over the past year, the Institute promoted the first ever exposé of anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism in the K-12 textbooks most widely used in Americas schoolrooms. This shocking study, The Trouble with Textbooks, has substantially spurred and influenced the national debate about errors and bias in textbooks, particularly about religion. Recently, Fox News produced a documentary that analyzed all sides of the issue. This excerpt looks at the textbook publishing industry and examines how pressure groups make use of textbook adoptions in major states to push their agendas, especially when it comes to teaching about the history of the major religions. The Textbook Industry The industry suffers from systemic ills. Textbooks are assumed to contain only facts and truths, yet special interest groups successfully push their agendas in a variety of ways. History textbooks are a primary target. Publishers’ reluctance to offend any group results in the dumbing down of textbook lessons to the lowest common denominator. The textbook industry is dominated by only three companies, making it easier for multiple product lines to be wrong. Textbooks are a big business, with $10 billion in annual industry sales. The textbook customer is not the teacher, but often adoption committees such as in Texas and California, particularly Texas. Millions of dollars are at stake in every adoption in these major states. Mel and Norma Gabler founded Educational Research Analysts of Longview, Texas, one of the oldest pressure groups. Other organizations, of varying ideologies, have followed in their footsteps. The Role of Islam in U.S. Public Schools Muslims have disproportionate influence on public school curriculum and textbooks. The Council on Islamic Education and other Muslim organizations have successfully lobbied publishers and schools to improve the image of Islam and to present the Israeli-Palestinian conflict only in terms of the Arab narrative. Some examples of the problematic material in textbooks are: • Any connection between Islam and terrorism is expunged. • The concepts of jihad and sharia (Islamic law) have been removed. • The three major monotheistic religions are not treated alike: Judaism and Christianity are qualified and critiqued while Muslim beliefs are taught as historical fact. •One textbook teaches that Jesus was a Palestinian. Allegations are made that the indoctrination of students through intolerant textbooks is occurring at a Saudi-funded private school in greater Washington, D.C. Should what goes on at the school, which receives no U.S. government funding, be a public concern or not?
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 13:11:39 +0000
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