U.S. Textbooks on Islam Accused of Being Biased against Muslims

U.S. Textbooks on Islam Accused of Being Biased against Muslims



A series of US children's textbooks on Islam contains misleading and inflammatory rhetoric about the religion, inaccurately portraying its followers as hostile and deserving of suspicion, according to a US Muslim civil liberties group. The Pennsylvania chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations has begun what it calls a public awareness campaign against the World of Islam book series published by Mason Crest Publishing, a company dedicated to producing books to be used as "core-related materials for grades K-12". Mason Crest describes the series as follows:
The purpose of the World of Islam series is to provide students with an objective examination of Islam and give an overview of what Muslims believe, how they practice their faith, and what values they hold most important. The books in this series show the glorious history, and rich culture of this important religion using relevant photographs, informative charts, and many worthwhile captions.
The 10-part series of books, designed for middle and high school students, is produced by the well-known conservative think tank Foreign Policy Research Institute. Islam critic Daniel Pipes was director of FPRI and editor of its journal, Orbis from 1986 to 1993. The institute and the publisher are both based in the Philadelphia area. CAIR-PA says it has received complaints about the books from concerned parents in different parts of the country. "The overall theme of the books is that Muslims are inherently violent, that Islam is a second-rate religion and that one should be wary of Muslims in any society," said Moein Khawaja, the chapter's civil rights director. "These books do not fulfil the mission of a school, which is to educate." Among dozens of examples cited by Khawaja, the book Muslims in America says: "Some Muslims began immigrating to the United States in order to transform American society, sometimes through the use of terrorism." Elsewhere, a picture of two smiling Muslim girls in head scarves appears on a page subtitled "Security Threats".
It was not immediately clear where the series was being used, either in classrooms or libraries. But Khawaja said complaints from council chapters across the country led him to believe it was on bookshelves in about two dozen states. The Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), is a well-known conservative think tank. The research institute's president Harvey Sicherman said he was mystified by the reaction to the series and the two examples were taken out of context. The photo placement was inadvertent, he said, and the caption in no way implied the girls were security threats. The quote about Muslim immigration to America was accurate, Sicherman said. "Well, yes, some people did come to the United States to commit terrorism, and I don't know how one can quarrel with that sentence." Khawaja said the problem went beyond isolated sentences to what he described as the series' overarching anti-Islamic tone and message. "A book isn't just a set of quotes – it's a conclusion you walk away with." He noted a chronology in the book Islam in Europe started with 1988 and listed 10 events, seven of which involved extremist Muslims participating in bombings, hijackings or other violence. "Muslims have been in Europe for thousands of years," Khawaja said. "This is ridiculous." Sicherman said a representative from the institute would attend the Muslim group's news conference to learn more. The ten books in the series are as follows: Divisions in Islam by Dr. John Calvert History of Islam by Dr. Barry Rubin Islam in Europe by Michael Radu Islam, Law and Human Rights by Anna Melman Islamic-Jewish Relations Before 1947 by Tanya Sklar Islamic Rituals and Celebrations by Dorothy Kavanaugh The Monotheistic Religions: Islam, Christianity, and Judaism by Abe M. Cohen Muslims in America by Anna Melman The Muslim World: an Overview by Dorothy Kavanaugh Radical Islam by Alan Luxenberg