Anonymous wrote:To the Islamaphobes whom said they would pull their kids out of school if their kindergarteners learned that Muslims kneeled and said God is great, what part offends you? I mean, do they know that Christians go to church and take communion or Jews to to synagogues and pray? I promise you your kids are not going to convert if they learn about Muslims. They might end up more *gasp* tolerant though.

Strongly disagree that factual dispassionate facts about the practice and beliefs of Islam lead to more tolerance. I think there are other reasons to learn about it and I'm not even against it but I just really disagree as a practical matter.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the Islamaphobes whom said they would pull their kids out of school if their kindergarteners learned that Muslims kneeled and said God is great, what part offends you? I mean, do they know that Christians go to church and take communion or Jews to to synagogues and pray? I promise you your kids are not going to convert if they learn about Muslims. They might end up more *gasp* tolerant though.

You can't compare teaching the words "allahu akbar" or the shahada. It would be the equivalent of teaching Christian or Jewish theology.

What? I learned about the shahada in a conservative southern school 30 years ago. It's a basic tenant of Islam that I'd expect to be taught at some point in any schooling.

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]To the Islamaphobes whom said they would pull their kids out of school if their kindergarteners learned that Muslims kneeled and said God is great, what part offends you? I mean, do they know that Christians go to church and take communion or Jews to to synagogues and pray? I promise you your kids are not going to convert if they learn about Muslims. They might end up more *gasp* tolerant though. [/quote]

You can't compare teaching the words "allahu akbar" or the shahada. It would be the equivalent of teaching Christian or Jewish theology. [/quote]



Have you ever sang in choir? The word hallelujah is used all the time in school. I had to sing a song once about how Jesus was born divine in a public school. This is sooo not the same thing. The kindergartners weren’t made to say God is great, they learned that that is something Muslims say when they pray. [/quote]

My kid has never been made to sing Hallelujah and I would be furious if they were

Anonymous wrote:To the Islamaphobes whom said they would pull their kids out of school if their kindergarteners learned that Muslims kneeled and said God is great, what part offends you? I mean, do they know that Christians go to church and take communion or Jews to to synagogues and pray? I promise you your kids are not going to convert if they learn about Muslims. They might end up more *gasp* tolerant though.

The problem in some (not all) cases is that they don't teach comparable things about Christians, Jews, and even atheists. Certain schools and certain teachers seem to have granted Islam special status by nature of Muslims being perceived as "oppressed"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the Islamaphobes whom said they would pull their kids out of school if their kindergarteners learned that Muslims kneeled and said God is great, what part offends you? I mean, do they know that Christians go to church and take communion or Jews to to synagogues and pray? I promise you your kids are not going to convert if they learn about Muslims. They might end up more *gasp* tolerant though.

You can't compare teaching the words "allahu akbar" or the shahada. It would be the equivalent of teaching Christian or Jewish theology.

Have you ever sang in choir? The word hallelujah is used all the time in school. I had to sing a song once about how Jesus was born divine in a public school. This is sooo not the same thing. The kindergartners weren’t made to say God is great, they learned that that is something Muslims say when they pray.

Not in recent decades, that is for sure, unless you went to school in Mississippi.

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Anonymous wrote:Why is there secular Christmas but Hanukkah gets to have a religious symbol of a menorah? The nativity is banned.

Some things seriously puzzle me but whatever.

I am Jewish and this bothers me as well. I'm grateful they feature Menorahs but having a Nativity scene is something that's historically a part of American culture, yes it's religious but, like, the people who founded the USA were Christian, and I'm Jewish and see nothing wrong with celebrating that.

Give credit where credit is due.

We should have religious nativity scenes in our Christmas celebrations in public school because some of the Founding Fathers were Christian?

Afaik they ALL were Christian. I don't see why Nativity scenes should be forbidden, that's for sure.

Please learn more American history.

This is a ridiculous argument - we all know the Founding Fathers were Christian.

Even suppose they weren't, 50% of the USA identifies as Christian. There are millions more religious Christians than Muslims or Jews. It makes no sense to ignore them.

Literally no one is ignoring christians. No matter how much we wish it were possible

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the Islamaphobes whom said they would pull their kids out of school if their kindergarteners learned that Muslims kneeled and said God is great, what part offends you? I mean, do they know that Christians go to church and take communion or Jews to to synagogues and pray? I promise you your kids are not going to convert if they learn about Muslims. They might end up more *gasp* tolerant though.

You can't compare teaching the words "allahu akbar" or the shahada. It would be the equivalent of teaching Christian or Jewish theology.

Have you ever sang in choir? The word hallelujah is used all the time in school. I had to sing a song once about how Jesus was born divine in a public school. This is sooo not the same thing. The kindergartners weren’t made to say God is great, they learned that that is something Muslims say when they pray.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the Islamaphobes whom said they would pull their kids out of school if their kindergarteners learned that Muslims kneeled and said God is great, what part offends you? I mean, do they know that Christians go to church and take communion or Jews to to synagogues and pray? I promise you your kids are not going to convert if they learn about Muslims. They might end up more *gasp* tolerant though.

You can't compare teaching the words "allahu akbar" or the shahada. It would be the equivalent of teaching Christian or Jewish theology.

So? What's wrong with teaching theology?

https://coursebulletin.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/CourseDetails/Index/SOC2067

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the Islamaphobes whom said they would pull their kids out of school if their kindergarteners learned that Muslims kneeled and said God is great, what part offends you? I mean, do they know that Christians go to church and take communion or Jews to to synagogues and pray? I promise you your kids are not going to convert if they learn about Muslims. They might end up more *gasp* tolerant though.

You can't compare teaching the words "allahu akbar" or the shahada. It would be the equivalent of teaching Christian or Jewish theology.

Please explain what is inappropriate about teaching that Muslims kneel and say God is great.

What is inappropriate about having a Nativity scene?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To the Islamaphobes whom said they would pull their kids out of school if their kindergarteners learned that Muslims kneeled and said God is great, what part offends you? I mean, do they know that Christians go to church and take communion or Jews to to synagogues and pray? I promise you your kids are not going to convert if they learn about Muslims. They might end up more *gasp* tolerant though.

You can't compare teaching the words "allahu akbar" or the shahada. It would be the equivalent of teaching Christian or Jewish theology.

Please explain what is inappropriate about teaching that Muslims kneel and say God is great.

Anonymous wrote:To the Islamaphobes whom said they would pull their kids out of school if their kindergarteners learned that Muslims kneeled and said God is great, what part offends you? I mean, do they know that Christians go to church and take communion or Jews to to synagogues and pray? I promise you your kids are not going to convert if they learn about Muslims. They might end up more *gasp* tolerant though.

You can't compare teaching the words "allahu akbar" or the shahada. It would be the equivalent of teaching Christian or Jewish theology.

OP, there is a difference between having a class presentation about a different culture and having a class party. The class party everyone is expected to join in and celebrate whereas a presentation, it’s understood that it’s a learning opportunity. Would you be okay if someone did a presentation about the origins of Valentine’s Day or Halloween and a class Diwali party or does it only have to be the other way around?

To the Islamaphobes whom said they would pull their kids out of school if their kindergarteners learned that Muslims kneeled and said God is great, what part offends you? I mean, do they know that Christians go to church and take communion or Jews to to synagogues and pray? I promise you your kids are not going to convert if they learn about Muslims. They might end up more *gasp* tolerant though.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:When I was in elementary school (mcps), back in the 80s, we used to make dreidels out of clay for Hanukkah. I also remember eating gefilte fish. We were not a Jewish school at all. Most of us were minorities! I also remember making lanterns for the Chinese new year. We celebrated Valentine’s Day, Halloween, and Christmas.

I remember looking forward to the Jewish holidays because they had so many fun festivals. I think participating and learning about other cultures and religions can help bridge understanding and bring us together rather than divide us. There’s so much division and division breeds misunderstandings and resentment. MCPS used to be a place where you could learn reading, writing an arithmetic, but also have a rich cultural education. It’s a shame that it doesn’t seem to be that way anymore.

The OP is complaining that their child made a Diwali lantern in class. Did you make Diwali lanterns in class, when you were in MCPS elementary school back in the 1980s? I certainly did not make Diwali lanterns in class, when I was in elementary school (not in MCPS) in the 1970s.

OP here and I was absolutely not complaining about my kid making a Diwali lantern. It was fun and I'd like to see more of that kind of thing. I'm complaining that secular American holidays are not celebrated and by my reading, differentially discouraged from mention. I welcome comparably secular holidays from all over the world; the more holiday the merrier.

Maybe ask your kid to help you learn to read?

"holiday" is a corruption of "holy day". Not inclusive.

"Celebration day", please.