Muslim Prayer in U.S. Public Schools

The same federal court that said reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion because it includes God, has ruled that it’s Ok for those same students to praise Allah in Muslim prayers.

Outrageous as it may seem, on November 17, 2005, the ultra-liberal 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling that allows California public schools to teach pro-Islamic lessons that include reciting Muslim prayers aloud, praising Allah, professing as true that the Holy Quran is God’s word and taking an Arabic name for two full weeks.

The case (Eklund v. Byrun Union School District, District Court Number 02-03004, Appellate Number 04-15032) began when a group of parents sued against pro-Islamic lessons in California’s public school curriculum. They argued that the government was promoting Islam, but a Sacramento federal judge, appointed by Bill Clinton, ruled against them saying the state was merely teaching kids about another culture.

The case went to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which let the ruling stand. (The plaintiffs, thankfully, are filing a writ of certiorari petition with the U.S. Supreme Court, which is due on June 1, 2006.) A few years ago when the same appellate court ruled that reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in public schools is an unconstitutional endorsement of religion, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were outraged and blasted the ruling. The U.S. Senate even passed a resolution, 99-0, expressing support for the Pledge of Allegiance.

In the 9th Circuit decision, the court said: “The Pledge, as currently codified, is an impermissible government endorsement of religion because it sends a message to unbelievers ‘that they are outsiders, not full members of the political community, and an accompanying message to adherents that they are insiders, favored members of the political community.'”

What about alienating those who don’t endorse Allah? The California Conservative believes the 9th Circuit promotes religion in the schools – the Muslim religion. GOP Insight writes that the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals is doing its part to help Islamic terrorists spread their religion of hatred and intolerance in American schools while at the same time denying even the mention of Christianity.