Virginia district cancels school over Islamic lesson anger

On Friday, classes were canceled after the school system received numerous e-mails and phone calls, some of which they say posed a risk of harm to school officials.

The decision is reminiscent of a similar shutdown, which occurred earlier this week on a much more massive scale in Los Angeles, where the nation’s second largest school district was temporarily shut down following unspecified threats, which were later determined to be a hoax.

Parents were angered over the assignment, with posts on Facebook accusing the school of religious indoctrination. (No, that’s not an exaggeration.) A world religions teacher at Riverheads High School wanted to teach her students about the intricacies of Arabic calligraphy.

“There was no trying about it. The sheet she gave out was pure doctrine in its origin”, she told WHSV.

The school district further defended the lesson saying the assignment was consistent with the Virginia Department of Education Standards of Learning and the requirements for content instruction on world monotheistic religions.

“That’s why we need to join together”, she said to the Staunton daily, implying a halt in the mention of Islam in schools.

The News Leader reported that initial reaction from Christian parents included having LaPorte fired for “violating children’s religious beliefs”.

Sheriff Randall D. Fisher says security has been assigned to the Bond, the teacher who created the lesson and the school’s principal.

Shull thinks more parents should voice any concerns about the curriculum at school board meetings.

Augusta County schools are slightly below the national average on the ACT and SAT, so there’s room for improvement in the basics, it seems.

Outrage over “Islamic indoctrination” of students by a homework assignment led to the closing of 24 schools in Virginia on Friday, but Augusta County district officials said no specific threat was made.

The worksheet was apparently meant to give students “an idea of the artistic complexity of calligraphy”.

All this wasn’t satisfactory for 24,000 residents of the town who continued to protest against the teacher, while at the same time her ex-students started defending her on Facebook page, which was taken offline eventually, according to the News Leader.

As passions overflow, for fear of their potential effects, Augusta County Schools will remain shuttered over the weekend for all activities.

The basic Arabic phrase translated to: “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah”. Students will return to school on January 4th.