Did you know that if you study more than 20 pages of Islamic history, there’s a strong chance you’ll turn into a Muslim?
Presto chango, it’s true.
Well, that’s according to a gaggle of upset parents in Middle Tennessee who don’t like the fact that their seventh-grade children are – get ready for a shock here – being forced (forced!) by the public school system to memorize the Five Pillars of Islam, among other Allah-inspired information.
Now, Tennessee’s newly implemented social studies curriculum standards are under fire as those parents have gained the support of some vociferous elected officials, namely a handful of state lawmakers along with Republican U.S. House Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who refers to the current study of Islam as “indoctrination.”
Since the state Board of Education sets learning standards, and local school boards then employ curriculum and instruction methods to meet those requirements, the unhappy parents and policymakers are simultaneously directing their ire in two directions: Nashville and their own community officials.
And the pressure is working. Statewide standards are typically reviewed on a six-year cycle, but thanks to the recent outrage, that timeline is being sped up by two years to, as Tennessee Department of Education Commissioner Candice McQueen puts it, “help further an appropriate balance in the coverage of world religions.”
That sounds good, but is the situation really that out of whack? Are we sure the current system truly favors Islam?
Some say absolutely. For instance, Mt. Juliet pastor Greg Locke publicly claimed that, “We have a number of our families at our church that are really upset and up in arms over all of this new Islamic indoctrination in our public school system.”
Pushing back against the idea that curriculum skews toward Islam, the director of legislative affairs for the state Department of Education, Elizabeth Fiveash, argued “that the last chapter of the sixth-grade textbook covers the rise of Christianity extensively. That chapter is repeated at the beginning of the seventh-grade textbook.”
Indeed, a screenshot from a Nashville news broadcast covering a Franklin mother’s disapproval of the new standards shows the table of contents from her daughter’s history book. Guess what the title of the chapter is preceding the one called “Islamic Civilization”? That’s right, “The Rise of Christianity”- with almost identical page count.
It doesn’t look so lopsided from here. Also, let’s not forget that students cover the other major world religions too.
Look, I get the fact that we’re living in an age of intense interreligious skepticism, and that much of this in the West is due to the violent actions of radical Islam. That’s an unavoidable truth. However, a great remedy for said skepticism is education.
This is precisely the moment we should be wanting our children (and ourselves, really) to learn more, not less, about the guiding principles of the great faiths. This little corner of the world of ours is rapidly changing, becoming more diverse by the day. And to function best at the local and state levels requires a mutual appreciation among neighbors.
No, I’m not advocating for a statewide kumbaya session, but we certainly shouldn’t strong-arm opportunities to increase our understanding of the spiritual and philosophical foundations of those we associate with on a daily basis.
“Studying” is not a synonym for “indoctrination.” Or, as Paul Galloway of the American Center for Outreach put it, “You can’t trick someone into being a Muslim.”
Though the loudest voices in this controversy are a few counties away, the pending standards review – open to public feedback – will have an immediate impact in our schools here. Hopefully, this will be a chance to show that Tennesseans are committed to education, not to know-nothingism.
Because we’re better than willful ignorance.
David Allen Martin is a syndicated columnist who writes from Chattanooga. Email him at davidallenmartin423@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @DMart423.