WASHINGTON,
April 7, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) - A school in Arizona removed a
seventh-grade textbook on medieval times on claims the book focuses on
the portrayal of Islam.
The
book has eight various units, with the first on the legacy of the
Roman Empire and the second on the rise of Islam and the contribution
of Muslims to world civilization. Other chapters cover other different
aspects.
The
Islamic civilization was in its heyday at the time, which also
witnessed the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century and a
legacy of feudalism in Europe, known as the Dark Ages, before the Age
of Enlightenment.
The
book, “History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond,” was being
used on a trial basis at Mohave Middle School in Scottsdale in Tucson,
according to The Tucson Citizen Wednesday, April 6, quoting the
Associated Press.
The
paper said the removal came allegedly after angry e-mails to the
school district and entries on conservative Web logs.
“I
received a significant number of e-mails saying (the book) was Islamic
propaganda and we shouldn’t use it,” said district governing board
member Christine Schild.
In
a January 25 e-mail to Superintendent John Baracy, Parent Janie White
objected to what she believed was “religious bias, dogma, myth and
proselytizing.”
Similar
letters were carried by hard-line Web sites, including the one of
Daniel Pipes known for his scathing attacks on Islam.
In
the only one unit covering Islam in the book, students read and learn
about the contributions of Muslims to world civilization in such areas
as science, geography, mathematics, philosophy, medicine, art, and
literature.
Medieval
Richness
The
book also covers the richness of Islam at the time, in addition to the
rich heritage of storytelling and poetry in the Muslim world.
Students
also learn how Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, enriched Muslim
literature. The book cites as example Omar Khayyam, whose collection
of Sufi poems is one of the most widely translated pieces of
literature in the world.
Khayyam
was not just a poet. He was also a mathematician, scientist, and
astronomer. He made significant contributions in each of those areas,
according to the book.
The
district had not yet invited members of the Islamic community to
discuss the book by the time it was pulled in March.
The
book devotes 33 pages to Christianity and 42 pages to Islam, included
in one of the book’s eight units.
The
titles of other lessons cover areas such as “the Byzantine Empire”
and “From the Crusades to the Rise of New Muslim Empires”.
Students also learn about the causes and effects of the crusades
through role playing.
Western
Muslim analysts have long complained of discrimination or at least
ignorance in American and European school curricula.
