By AMBER STEWART

Williamson County is refusing to comply with an out-of-state group’s open records request for social studies materials on the subject of Islam.

Williamson County is refusing to comply with an out-of-state group’s open records request for social studies materials on the subject of Islam.

The American Center for Law and Justice, an activist organization based in Washington D.C. and founded by evangelist Pat Robertson, is arguing that Tennessee middle school students are “being forced to learn how to convert to Islam and recite that ‘Allah is the only God.'”

The ACLJ has a history of promoting far right causes and believes that, according to a pamphlet published on their web site, Muslims in the United States wish to establish Shari’ah law. And they believe that it is beginning in middle school classrooms. As stated on their web site, “It’s Islamic indoctrination right here in our schools.”

On Sept. 16, the ACLJ made a request for “Any and all records concerning assignments or activities in which students of [your school district] are asked and/or required to recite prayers and/or chants, speak in Arabic or other foreign language(s), or engage in any other speech and/or conduct associated with any world religion.”

Williamson County schools, represented by William E. Squires, refused the request on the grounds that because the ACLJ is not a Tennessee resident, they cannot obtain the records. In their response they stated, “Your request is politely denied … Your letter indicates at the outset that the ACLJ is making the request, and there is no statutory authority for a request to be made by a foreign corporate entity.”

Many state leaders also have been advocating for the social studies state standards to be reviewed before the scheduled review in 2018. Due to the public concern, standards will now be reviewed in January.

The standards in question for Williamson County ask that students in the seventh grade be able to “Trace the origins of Islam and the life and teachings of Muhammad, including Islam’s historical connections to Judaism and Christianity.” They also should be able to, “Explain the significance of the Qur’an and the Sunnah as the primary sources of Islamic beliefs, practice, and law and their influence in Muslims’ daily life.”

The standards also require sixth grade students to study Christianity in its historical context. By the end of sixth grade students should be able to, “Describe the origins and central features of Christianity including: monotheism, the belief in Jesus as the Messiah and God’s Son, the concept of resurrection, the concept of salvation, belief in the Old and New Testaments, the lives, teachings and contributions of Jesus and Paul, the relationship of early Christians to officials of the Roman Empire.”

Students in Williamson County will also cover Christianity in the seventh grade and then in high school. Over the course of their education, students will be asked to study the historical significance of Judaism, Hinduism, Taoism, Confucianism, Islam, Shintoism and both major sects of Christianity: Catholicism and Protestantism.

Despite that, some feel that Islam is too prominent.

State Rep. Andy Holt, representing Weakley, and part of Obion and Carroll Counties, says on his web site that, “After reviewing the standards set by the Tennessee Department of Education, it has become abundantly clear that a strong bias in favor of Islam over all other religions is being taught to our children in public schools…. I am calling for those standards to be revised as soon as Session starts. I repeat, not reviewed, but revised.”

Williamson County Board Member Susan Curlee spoke to the State Textbook Commission on Sept. 18 against the inclusion of Islam in school curriculum. She wrote on Facebook last Friday, “As the parent of a child in 7th grade last year, the course and heavy influence of Islam had a direct impact on our family… Freedom of religion includes freedom from religion.”

Williamson Strong, a community and parent organization, contends that the accusation of indoctrination shows little regard for teachers and the ways they handle topics in their classrooms. In a post on their web site this week they said, “Earlier this year we heard that teachers were ‘indoctrinating’ children into leftist thinking. Now we have a campaign saying that our social studies teachers are indoctrinating seventh graders into religious beliefs… The disrespect for teachers on this is unbelievable.”