The Texas State Board of Education adopted a resolution Friday that seeks to curtail references to Islam in Texas textbooks, as social conservative board members warned of what they describe as a creeping Middle Eastern influence in the nation's publishing industry.
The board approved the one-page nonbinding resolution, which urges textbook publishers to limit what they print about Islam in world history books, by a 7-5 vote.
Critics say it's another example of the ideological board trying to politicize public education in the Lone Star State. Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, which advocates for religious freedom, questioned why the resolution came at a time when "anti-Muslim rhetoric in this country has reached fever pitch."
Future boards that will choose the state's next generation of social studies texts will not be bound by the resolution.
"This is an expression of the board's opinion, so it does not have an effect on any particular textbook," said David Anderson, the general counsel for the Texas Education Agency, when asked by a board member what legal weight the resolution would carry.
The resolution concludes by warning publishers the "State Board of Education will look to reject future prejudicial social studies submissions that continue to offend Texas law with respect to treatment of the world's major religious groups by significant inequalities of coverage space-wise and by demonizing or lionizing one or more of them over others."
Social conservatives control the 15-member board for now, although the landscape is set to change after one member of the bloc lost his primary election bid and another chose not to seek re-election. The board in recent years has become a battleground for social conservatives and liberal watchdogs, each accusing the other of imposing ideological agendas into what about 4.8 million public school students learn in Texas classrooms.
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6 comments:
In a Christian nation (man, how some people HATE it when I say that...lol), with Western values and culture, why are we constantly pushed to give "equal" treatment to the WORLD'S religions, politics, and values. I have no problem teaching children about the world, but I want the great majority of teaching to be focused on OUR country, OUR politics, OUR values, OUR culture. The Muslims and Hindu's make up about 1% (one percent!!!) of our population, yet we seem to be constantly striving to make sure they are always "included" and their feelings aren't hurt. Welcome to America. Now BE American.
Texas has good ideas , as always.
10:21 YES!!! Well said!!!!
Good job TEXAS!
Imclaim - the resolution dealt with WORLD history books, not US history books. You want a US tilt in US history books, fine. However, when you look at the US' 234 years, it's a bit less than the 3,000 years of the Egyptian Empire, the Mayans lasting over 2,500 years, or China, which has lasted thousands of years. I don't expect world history to have much about the US.
We live in a world closely linked. Understanding the views and cultures of other societies advances the US. Business deals are broken by not understanding the culture of your potential business partner. No one is pushing anything in my opinion.
7:22....my main objection to all these reports has to do with the bigger issue of how much do we have to bend, how many concessions must we make, and how much emphasis should we place on making sure that everyone gets "equal" treatment? I also agree with you that understanding other cultures and histories is critical to an open and engaging mind. And I don't hear much grumbling from the Chinese, the Mayans, or the Egyptians that we aren't giving them enough play...Everywhere one turns, its THE MUSLIMS whining, or in most cases, KILLING, if they don't get their way. Why is there such a hoopla about making sure Islam is given "equal" attention? Sounds (to me) like someone is "pushing" something....
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