Is it true grade schools are teaching kids Islam? If so why?

CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN

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KitKatMatt

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So they're learning about the existence of Islam and what some of the believers believe, is what I'm understanding?

I'd need more information to make an opinion on whether or not this is not being done correctly.

If they're just learning that this religion exists and the basics about it, though, I don't see where there is any issue. We never learned anything about Islam in school, but we did learn it was one of the three major world religions, and we did read just a few texts from the Bible to establish a few basic beliefs about Christianity and Judaism.
 
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LionL

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In my opinion children should be taught about all of the major religions at school - their beliefs, practices, festivals etc. That way they will have a more complete view when and if they decide to choose a religion as an adult. Children should not be told that one faith is right and all of the others are wrong - that's just brainwashing.
 
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trunks2k

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*shrug* When I was in, I think 6th or 7th grade, we learned about Islam and its basic belief structure. It seems our teacher thought that it might be important to at least have a passing familiarity with one of the world's largest religions and a great influence on a politically important region. Especially since I lived in a town that had no Muslims that I was aware of, in a region where almost everyone was a flavor of Christian or Jewish. So it wasn't knowledge you could easily pick up by just being in your environment. Reading the article above, it sounds very similar to what we did. That was twenty years or so ago. I'd think knowing about it is even more important today in order to gain an understanding of what is going on it the world.

ETA: IMO, having a basic understanding of Islam and its history will go a long way to understanding the modern conflicts in the middle east, especially why Sunni vs Shi'ite is such a major factor
 
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Maynard Keenan

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Other students say they didn't have to recite prayers or statements of faith. I'd have to see exactly what was taught to give a 100% definitive answer but learning about religions, their histories, their principles, and their beliefs and practices is just part of education. I went to Catholic schools and learned about Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, ancient mythologies, etc.
 
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Maynard Keenan

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What about no religions in schools. If they are going to teach about Islam. Maybe they should teach about every religion.

Are you paying attention? Christianity and Judaism are also part of the curriculum. They are introduced and taught at an earlier age in this district (6th grade) while Islam is not taught until high school world history.

Also, "no religion in schools" doesn't mean "no studying religions as a part of culture, society, and history." It means "no practicing of religion as part of official school business, no proselytizing by school officials, and no bias toward religion in general, certain religions, or irreligion by school officials."
 
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Tallguy88

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We learned about Islam in 7th grade world history. This was maybe the year before 9/11 so Islam wasn't as well known to rural American school kids as it may be today. It was just a brief overview, didn't even learn much of the beliefs. By the end of it, I couldn't even get the difference in how to use the terms "Muslim" and "Islam" correctly, often substituting the words for each other.
 
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dgiharris

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I get annoyed by these types of "The Sky is Falling" wolf cries...

Seriously, does anyone really think for one moment that a school is trying to convert students to Islam? UUGGGHHHH!!!!!! I just get so annoyed by these things.

Teaching "about" Islam is not the same as Teaching Islam. I mean, for the love of all that is holy, religion plays an IMPORTANT part of every culture and the socio-political structure of all regions on Earth. So it is near impossible to teach history without occasionally stumbling across religion. So explaining what Islam is and how it differs from other religions and the main tenants of Islam makes a lot of sense ESPECIALLY in today's world. Obviously you do the same for every "major" religion. No need wasting time on religions that don't impact the history or culture you are studying...

I'm sure Fox News had a field day with this. They'll probably put it on the back burner though and re-release it in December just in time for their annual "War Against Christmas" campaign they love to wage...
 
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CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN

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I get annoyed by these types of "The Sky is Falling" wolf cries...

Seriously, does anyone really think for one moment that a school is trying to convert students to Islam? UUGGGHHHH!!!!!! I just get so annoyed by these things.

Teaching "about" Islam is not the same as Teaching Islam. I mean, for the love of all that is holy, religion plays an IMPORTANT part of every culture and the socio-political structure of all regions on Earth. So it is near impossible to teach history without occasionally stumbling across religion. So explaining what Islam is and how it differs from other religions and the main tenants of Islam makes a lot of sense ESPECIALLY in today's world. Obviously you do the same for every "major" religion. No need wasting time on religions that don't impact the history or culture you are studying...

I'm sure Fox News had a field day with this. They'll probably put it on the back burner though and re-release it in December just in time for their annual "War Against Christmas" campaign they love to wage...
So if they teach Christian history in school . You are fine with that. Also I seen Muslims in school and had no need to learn more about them. I knew they had a different religion and I was fine. Sound like the US bending backwards for Muslims, while taking everything Christian out. They might all ready be talking about it on Fox. I got the news that they were teaching 2nd and 3rd graders, from my aunt, who watches fox.
 
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KitKatMatt

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*Everyone mentions that Christianity and Judaism are taught in addition to Islam*

Sound like the US bending backwards for Muslims, while taking everything Christian out.

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So if they teach Christian history in school . You are fine with that. Also I seen Muslims in school and had no need to learn more about them. I knew they had a different religion and I was fine. Sound like the US bending backwards for Muslims, while taking everything Christian out. They might all ready be talking about it on Fox. I got the news that they were teaching 2nd and 3rd graders, from my aunt, who watches fox.
They do teach Christian history in schools, and everyone is fine with it.

" I got the news that they were teaching 2nd and 3rd graders, from my aunt, who watches fox." Maybe hold off on posting the outrage threads until you have at least second hand information?
 
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trunks2k

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They do teach Christian history in schools, and everyone is fine with it.
I don't recall being taught it in school, at least not the basic tenants and beliefs like we did with Islam. I think it was pretty much assumed everyone knew it already since it was by far the dominant religion in the community. You would be hard pressed to find a kid who didn't have a grasp of the basics of Christianity. But we certainly did learn about how Christianity had an effect on the world, different religious reformation movements - what they meant, and how they effected history, etc.
 
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Supreme

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I learnt about Islam when I was in Year 8. We visited a very large Ahmaddiya mosque in North London, and it was an important part of the RE curriculum. Islam is the greatest religion in the world, along with Christianity, and has contributed more to human history than any other religion/ideology barring Christianity. I see no reason why schoolchildren should not be given a good grounding in the faith.
 
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dgiharris

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I learnt about Islam when I was in Year 8. We visited a very large Ahmaddiya mosque in North London, and it was an important part of the RE curriculum. Islam is the greatest religion in the world, along with Christianity, and has contributed more to human history than any other religion/ideology barring Christianity. I see no reason why schoolchildren should not be given a good grounding in the faith.

+1,

For the life of me, I just can't understand arguments "against" knowledge.

Especially in this day and age when the world is getting smaller and smaller. It is to all of our mutual benefit that we learn about each other.
 
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