Schools giving Muslims special treatment?

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-07-25-muslim-special-treatment-from-schools_N.htm

 

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Well that is a little different from the 'special treatment' non-Muslims get in a Muslim country.

ha ha ah

Note- jus basing that on what i read and see in the news.

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Wow, suddenly Christians have flipped on the idea that students can pray in school?

 

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I don't think there should be any prayers or religious concessions in school, regardless of what faith is at stake. But I think what people are reacting to in this story is the fact that Christianity, which like it or not is the bedrock of our nation and cultural identity, has been driven out of the schools, based on a liberal interpretation of the Establishment Clause. Now, the same people who excised Christianity are allowing Islam in? That's not exactly consistent, is it?

 

Thomas Jefferson as President of the United States.The phrase "separation of church and state" is derived from a letter written by Thomas Jefferson to a group identifying themselves as the Danbury Baptists. In that letter, referencing the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, Jefferson writes: "I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should 'make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,' thus building a wall of separation between Church & State."[4]

Another early user of the term was James Madison, the principal drafter of the United States Bill of Rights, who often wrote of "total separation of the church from the state." [5] "Strongly guarded . . . is the separation between religion and government in the Constitution of the United States," Madison wrote, and he declared, "practical distinction between Religion and Civil Government is essential to the purity of both, and as guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States." [6] This attitude is further reflected in the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, originally authored by Thomas Jefferson, but championed by Madison, and guaranteeing that no one may be compelled to finance any religion or denomination.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seperation_of_church_and_state

 

For starters, I've already said I don't support religion in the schools. Let me reiterate that here.

Secondly, you are aware, I assume, that letters between the Founders cannot be used to prove or disprove the so-called Establishment Clause in the Constitution, which was a legal document written and ratified by a group of men, not just Jefferson and Madison. Presumably, some of those men would interpret the clause differently, which is why the issue went to court and had to be interpretted by judges. That interpretation has changed only recently to give the secularists the exorcism they so crave...

I'm sure you're also aware that religion — specifically the Christian religion — is present in nearly every level of American government?

 

jesus don't let them pray in our schools don't let them were anything religous i mean it's only the same treatent us none muslims are getting

 

Can you really not tell the difference?

That schools cannot force children to pray does not mean children are not allowed to pray. I don't think it's exactly consistent that while people want Muslims to integrate, many also want to alienate them. How is that going to work out? Oh, right, right. Muslims can be equal when they give up their right to be Muslims.

Sorry, forgot about that for a moment.

 

If the Christian Religion can't be in the Schools because of the Establishment Clause, then the same applies to the Moslem Religion.

Either all can pray or none can pray, no special privilege.

 

I call BS. Christian students can still wear crosses, can still wear Jesus t-shirts, and can still pray in school.

Can people really not tell the difference between forcing children to pray and allowing children to pray?

 

One more time, just because the answer is becoming more and more clear as we go:

Can people really not tell the difference?​

 

Establishment Clause, the schools are providing support for the Islamic Religion, they are providing special rooms, and facilities that support the Moslem Faith, Moslems can be equal, and they can pray, but the school can't provide special facilities to help them in their religious practices, they will not allow a Chapel in a Public School, so what are they doing, allowing Foot Bathes, Special Schedules, and Rooms for the practice of the Moslem Religion?

Not allowed for Christians/ Not allowed for Moslems.

 

"The whole issue is to provide for a religious foundation for those who are observant while respecting separation of church and state," says Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, based in Los Angeles. Many schools accommodate the Christian and Jewish sabbaths and allow Jewish students to not take tests on religious holidays, he says.

Barry Lynn, of Americans United for the Separation of Church and State, says however that the law is murky on these expressions of faith. And the American Civil Liberties Union says overt religious symbols like crucifixes are not legal, but whether Muslim foot baths and prayer rugs fall into that category is not clear.

"That's a difficult one, and it's right on the edge," says Jeremy Gunn, director of the ACLU program on freedom of religion and belief in Washington, D.C. (USAToday.com)​

There are chapels and religious facilities for Christians and Jews at public colleges. That Christians protested the change of terms from "Christmas" and "Easter" breaks to "winter" or "holiday" and "spring" breaks doesn't change the fact that the school calendar is crafted to accommodate Christians.

Would you accept, instead, what would seem a disruptive habit of allowing students to throw down their rugs in the classroom and pray during class?

The great concern of religious establishment in government is that it excludes citizens who are guaranteed equal protection under the law. Take the crucifix example in the article. Not only would a crucifix violate Muslims, Jews, and atheists, but it would also alienate a good number of Christians who view the crucifix as a graven image or idol.

Just because so many Christians treat their faith as primarily political, and not symbolic or spiritual, does not mean the rest of American society must kneel before the Christian will.

We return to the central problem of the anti-Muslim argument: people demand that Muslims integrate peacefully into society while simultaneously seeking to alienate them. In the end, the only thing that will satisfy this anti-Muslim crowd will be that Muslims cease to be Muslims. Just because American Christians are widely apostate doesn't mean people of other faiths should be required to follow suit.

 

Actually the article is about funding separate prayer rooms and footwashing station at several universities; this isn't related to forced prayer, but rather priviledge.

 

I agree, GeoffP, but there are two points that compelled me to not retract or correct that comment:

• The article did make mention of schools that instituted an additional recess period to accommodate Muslim prayer.

• The repeated comparisons in this topic to the "removal" of Christianity and school-prayer issues.​

 

This simply means that the government should make no laws related to religion. So if one private school wants to allow prayer, and another private school does not, they're both within their rights to do so. In the instance of public schools, students can participate in any legal religious activity (that is, legal with regard to other laws like human sacrifices, consuming controlled substances, etc.).

Or do I misunderstand the situation? I think I've got it, perhaps I just wrote it incorrectly.

 

That shows that state of education in U.S.

:bugeye:

In telin u man, all u got to do is show up. Every kid in school need to do what the Muslims do and pray five times a day 'cause they aint learnin nothin anyway.

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Interesting point. It reminds me of a bit I read not too long ago about Christian outreach in Nigeria. They have a campaign among the poor called PUSH: "Pray Until Something Happens".

They're still waiting, of course, for God to fulfill those prayers. But it's better than nothing. Isn't it?

 

At leat someone cares enough to sweat their balls off with them.

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Sure it is better than nothing, which is what they are getting from you i am sure. At least someone cares enough to sweat their balls off with them.