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"A teacher at the district’s Riverheads High near Staunton, Va., gave an assignment asking students to try their hand at calligraphy by copying a statement in Arabic. Kimberly Herndon posted a photo of the worksheet given to her son, a student in the class, to her Facebook page.
Under the heading “practicing calligraphy,” the worksheet says: “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.”
The statement of faith translates to: “There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”
Augusta County Schools Superintendent Eric Bond said in a news release that the students were never asked to translate the phrase, written in Arabic, nor were they instructed to recite it or “adopt it as a personal belief.” He pointed out that students will do similar calligraphy exercises in units on China."...
Seriously, why would anyone with any measure of civilized intellect have any problem with this assignment? I would be fascinated by the complexity of Arabic calligraphy, and as for the statement of faith, it's pretty common knowledge that Muslims believed that Mohammad was the last true prophet. Kids don't need to believe or agree with the statement, but they need to know that's what the Muslims believe. So what's the big deal?
These kids also practice Chinese calligraphy....so is that a Chinese communist brainwashing conspiracy too? Ridiculous.
Funny, Allah, Yaweh, God - everyone talking about the same entity. Now if the had said Zeus' I would be pissed.
Says you. There are many people who don't accept that Allah and God are the same, and many, many more who reject that Muhammad is the messenger of God if Allah and God are the same entity. Probably a discussion more suited to the Religion forum.
"A teacher at the district’s Riverheads High near Staunton, Va., gave an assignment asking students to try their hand at calligraphy by copying a statement in Arabic. Kimberly Herndon posted a photo of the worksheet given to her son, a student in the class, to her Facebook page.
Under the heading “practicing calligraphy,” the worksheet says: “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.”
The statement of faith translates to: “There is no god but Allah. Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.”
Augusta County Schools Superintendent Eric Bond said in a news release that the students were never asked to translate the phrase, written in Arabic, nor were they instructed to recite it or “adopt it as a personal belief.” He pointed out that students will do similar calligraphy exercises in units on China."...
Seriously, why would anyone with any measure of civilized intellect have any problem with this assignment? I would be fascinated by the complexity of Arabic calligraphy, and as for the statement of faith, it's pretty common knowledge that Muslims believed that Mohammad was the last true prophet. Kids don't need to believe or agree with the statement, but they need to know that's what the Muslims believe. So what's the big deal?
These kids also practice Chinese calligraphy....so is that a Chinese communist brainwashing conspiracy too? Ridiculous.
Great post. The reason is that Islam is the current boogie man for Republican Christians. They are so paranoid, thanks to Conservative politicians and talk show hosts, that all you have to do is mention the word Islam or Muslim and they panic. To think that writing something in Arabic will Indoctrinate the precious children and yet they allow their children to be indoctrinated into their church.
Here is another article on this from the NY Daily News for those of you who call the Daily Mail a rag and pretend this misbehavior by school officials never happened.
Great post. The reason is that Islam is the current boogie man for Republican Christians. They are so paranoid, thanks to Conservative politicians and talk show hosts, that all you have to do is mention the word Islam or Muslim and they panic. To think that writing something in Arabic will Indoctrinate the precious children and yet they allow their children to be indoctrinated into their church.
I'm not a Republican or a Christian, nor a member of any damn religion for that matter. The Arabic script didn't read 'It's a beautiful day' or 'Watch Rover run'. It had a religious content - not indirect either - at a time when assertive aggressive Islam is on the rise in the world. Storm in a teacup? Sure, there are bigger axes to grind, but not inconsequential either.
Here is another article on this from the NY Daily News for those of you who call the Daily Mail a rag and pretend this misbehavior by school officials never happened.
Yah, read the article @ the URL. What misbehavior by school officials are we talking about, because I didn't see any mention of any such in the article?
Well aren't you just so dramatic! Just let me clap my hands for a full minute!
And I would like to give you the clap too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
So let's see, it's not a primary or secondary source since it comes from a teacher made workbook...well, perhaps a secondary source, although that's stretching the definition of secondary source, and we would not have considered it so in our school when we were evaluating teacher lesson plans.
Thank you for identifying the point I was making in my original post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
I guess that sort of leaves an artifact, but at least that's within the same group of materials and skills the teacher can choose from since it seems to "analyze the...cultural landscapes". At least, if I were the erring teacher, that's the defense I would propose.
Hmmm ... writing on a page is now considered an 'artifact'? BTW this 'artifact' happens to be an Islamic Pillar of Faith.
Thank you for admitting that the teacher erred. And the stupidity of that defense parallels the defense in another topic where the guy accidentally tripped and fell on the naked girl which is why he penetrated her.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
So I can assume (and there's nothing wrong with the word assume, since I have no proof of her thinking) that that is what the teacher was drawing from in constructing her lesson...OR...she didn't understand the curriculum...OR...she was intentionally not following the curriculum.
Yet again you confirm my original post.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
And I stand on my nose-holding view of your cliche.
I suggest that you don't hold your nose too long. After all, you repeatedly made my point.
Location: San Ramon, Seattle, Anchorage, Reykjavik
2,254 posts, read 2,740,564 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jazzarama
Says you. There are many people who don't accept that Allah and God are the same, and many, many more who reject that Muhammad is the messenger of God if Allah and God are the same entity. Probably a discussion more suited to the Religion forum.
This whole thread belongs there.
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Call the question
