Teaching Islam in Schools

Out of Sight in Oregon

The necessity of learning about the world’s second most-popular religion was driven home for me on a recent visit to a small Muslim K-8 school in Oregon, operated by the Muslim Educational Trust. I initially noticed the conspicuous absence of an address- even a city- on the school’s website. Upon arrival, I was struck again by the deliberate obscurity: Tucked behind a fence, it bore no sign and gave no indication whatsoever that students and teachers (many of them Caucasian, incidentally) were busy at work behind its non-descript white walls.

You can guess the reason why the school keeps its profile low. Islam is reviled in many quarters, equated with terrorism and ironclad theocracy. Muslims and their mosques have been the targets of occasional violence and vandalism since the 9/11 attacks, and polling data show that nearly half the American public harbors negative views on Islam.

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Awash in these negative images of Islam, I found it fascinating to see a different face of Islam as I toured the Oregon school and listened to Wajdi Said, the executive director of the Muslim Education Trust.

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“Christianity and Judaism flourished under the protection of Muslim leaders through most of our history. We have a great history, and a great faith that accepts everybody. We need to educate Americans about the loving and caring face of Islam,” Said says.

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Let us make sure our students go into the world with some understanding of the Qur’an.

Extracted from On Religion by Tom Krattenmaker

USA TODAY, April 30, 2007