9th Circuit Court of Appeals: Islam Can Be Taught in Schools

Jennifer at The Scriptorium blog found this little gem concerning the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals latest bench legislation. They are the most hypocritical group of people I've ever encountered.
The sad part is that they know they are this way and they don't care. In fact they don't even try to hide the fact from people anymore.

Jennifer's Post:

This wins the prize for the most hypocritical thing I’ve seen all year. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that it was not overtly religious or unconstitutional for California schools to have children dress up as Muslims, recite Muslim prayers in class, and learn about the Koran and Islamic teachings. How can you get anymore overtly religious than that? Can you imagine the outcry (and the opposite ruling from the court) if California schools were having students read the Bible, recite Christian prayers, and wear Christian crosses or some such in school? I conclude from this ruling that the courts in this country have become so arrogant they no longer feel the need to even pretend they are not anti-Christian bigots.
Courts have ruled in cases against Christianity that students can’t even choose to pray alone inside a school building. Students at military schools have been barred from meeting for Bible studies in the school dorms on their own time. In fact, the 9th Circuit was the same court that ruled against reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in school because it is a “coercive exercise” and it mentions the word God. When we have bigots who seek to ban certain religions while allowing others, it’s time to start using the power Congress has to impeach judges. They should start with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Forget splitting up the court. Scrap it and start over.

This is what the court calls “not overtly religious”:
During the history course at Excelsior School in the fall of 2001, the teacher, using an instructional guide, told the students they would adopt roles as Muslims for three weeks to help them learn what Muslims believe.She encouraged them to use Muslim names, recited prayers in class and made them give up something for a day, such as television or candy, to simulate fasting during Ramadan. The final exam asked students for a critique of elements of Muslim culture.

Naturally, the court based it’s decision on a previous case brought by evangelical Christians.
The court cited its 1994 ruling rejecting a suit by evangelical Christian parents in Woodland (Yolo County) who objected to elementary school children reading texts that contained tales and role-playing exercises about witches. In that case, the court said classroom activities related to the texts, which included casting a make-believe spell, were secular instruction rather than religious rituals.

The whole article:
A Contra Costa County school was educating seventh-graders about Islam, not indoctrinating them, in role-playing sessions in which students used Muslim names and recited language from prayers, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a lawsuit by two Christian students and their parents, who accused the Byron Union School District of unconstitutionally endorsing a religious practice.
“The Islam program activities were not overt religious exercises that raise Establishment Clause concerns,'’ the three-judge panel said, referring to the First Amendment ban on government sanctioning a religion.
During the history course at Excelsior School in the fall of 2001, the teacher, using an instructional guide, told the students they would adopt roles as Muslims for three weeks to help them learn what Muslims believe.
She encouraged them to use Muslim names, recited prayers in class and made them give up something for a day, such as television or candy, to simulate fasting during Ramadan. The final exam asked students for a critique of elements of Muslim culture.
U.S. District Judge Phyllis Hamilton ruled in favor of the school district in 2003, saying that the class had an instructional purpose and that students had engaged in no actual religious exercises.
The appeals court upheld her ruling Thursday in a three-paragraph decision that was not published as a precedent for future cases, which generally is an indication that the court considers the legal issue to be clear from past rulings.
The court cited its 1994 ruling rejecting a suit by evangelical Christian parents in Woodland (Yolo County) who objected to elementary school children reading texts that contained tales and role-playing exercises about witches. In that case, the court said classroom activities related to the texts, which included casting a make-believe spell, were secular instruction rather than religious rituals.
The brevity of Thursday’s ruling “underscores the fact that what the district and its teachers did was entirely within the mainstream of educational practice,'’ said Linda Lye, attorney for the Byron schools.
Edward White of the Thomas More Center, the attorney in the case for the two children and their parents, said he will ask the full appeals court for a rehearing. He said the panel failed to address his argument that the district violated parents’ rights.
“What happened in this classroom was clearly an endorsement of religion and indoctrination of children in the Islamic religion, which would never have stood if it were a class on Christianity or Judaism,'’ White said.

Before any liberals chime in with an argument in favor of allowing Islam in schools, do a little thinking. If you support schools who ban Christmas carols in school, or if you support banning student initiated/led prayer at school sports events, or if you have a problem with students even uttering the word Christmas at school, you have no argument. Unless, of course, you’re now ready to allow Christians the same freedom of speech and religion.
Michelle Malkin links to the actual curriculum for the course.
See exerpts from the curriculum at Michelle’s blog
See Also Stop the ACLU

See the original article here.