The Lack of Islam in American Public Schools - Term Paper Example

Islam in American Public Schools and the Struggle for an Islamic-American Identity As essential participants in all societies, it is important that every student understands that Islam, rather than being a single entity that stays the same across the ages, evolves as it comes into contact with various aspects like historical, cultural, class, and ethnic factors (Moore 279). Even in countries that are majority Islam states, the population is diverse while the countries go through political, social, and cultural uncertainty as can be seen in Egypt. The expansion of Islam into the US has created a significant minority that has led to lengthy debate on various issues. These include the assimilation degree of the Muslims into society, national identity, and religious and civil law inter-relation. One avenue for finding a balance between security and identity issues with diversity tolerance in the society. The United States’ ideal, contending “out of many, one”, has assured that Muslims can participate in the maintenance and improvement of America as a culturally pluralistic democracy (Moore 286). However, the question arises as to the effects of the war on terror on American assimilation of Islam, both in the education system and society. This paper will argue that there is wanting progress on assimilating Islam into the education system while the formation of an Islamic-American identity is a struggle. The Lack of Islam in American Public Schools Religious illiteracy among American teachers has made it likely that teachers in the system will harbor generalizations and prejudices concerning Islam, which hinder the attempts to accommodate Islam in the education system (Aown 1257). Such bodies have long identified the basic requirements that Muslims need to uphold their Islamic faith in public schools as the Council on Islamic Education. These bodies have also raised vital issues that need to be on Islam and State that have now become difficult for public schools resolve. However, some of the state sponsored schools have found it difficult to make some of the accommodations that have been identified. At the heart of this issue is the extent to which the requirements and needs of Islam can be represented in the education system. Another issue that has held accommodation back is the failure of the teachers to understand whether the First Amendment’s establishment clause, prohibits the American state from accommodating religious groups to exercise freely. The religious belief requirement in the First Amendment’s free exercise clause could cause friction with the establishment clause when the student wants to practice his/her beliefs in a public school (Aown 1258). The teaching fraternity must ensure that the requirement for belief not to be hindered must be in balance with sensitivity not to give overwhelming state support for specific beliefs (Aown 1259). Some Americans are of the belief that, as long as support by the state is not preferential, then it is all right, whereas others believe that state support is not acceptable. However, it is possible to make thoughtful and sensitive accommodations easily without raising any questions to do with the constitution. For example, it may be possible to allow Muslim students for them to wear modest clothes, or even allow them to skip some social activities without any violation of school policies. In addition, some schools allow Muslim students to be absent for some religious holidays, although this is not widespread. While this accommodation may be considered a reasonable accommodation, some teachers resist it, mostly because they do not understand Islam and the importance of these holidays. Accordingly, some local district and state schools have been criticized for refusing to assent to these holidays (Aown 1259). This can be improved by placing Islamic holidays together with holidays for other religions for teachers to plan on the school calendar. While some schools have began to implement excusal policies that let Muslim students opt out of some activities for their religious beliefs, teacher illiteracy on religious issues has held its full implementation back (Moore 282). It is possible that this could be remedied by focusing on particular assignments, discussions, and activity to find a balance between religious freedoms and the interests of the school to provide an education that is well rounded. While most schools have an allowance for Muslim students to skip such holidays as Valentine’s Day and Halloween, it is almost impossible to get accommodation for activities that take up larger parts of the school calendar, for example, on a pilgrimage to Mecca. While it may be understood that these activities will only occur once in their school life, most teachers, ignorant on religious issues, turn down requests on educational grounds (Moore 283). The failure of public schools to develop a curriculum for physical education that accommodates the requirement for Muslim girls to be modestly dressed also presents difficulties for Muslim students. The American public school system’s interests in coming up with workable PE curricula conflict with Islamic religious beliefs. The issue concerning accommodation of Islamic beliefs in the American school system becomes even more difficult for indigenous American Muslims. Accommodation for indigenous American Muslims is even more problematic than for immigrant American Muslims. Majority of them are of African American descent, a part of the population that has not been adequately accommodated in the education system (Khalifa & Gooden 312). Accommodation of indigenous American Muslims in the education system involves spending money, which is subject to budgeting biases. In addition, because of this, it can also be argued that American public schools, under the prohibition act, are prohibited from implementing these changes by the establishment clause. However, the free exercise clause contends that not accommodating indigenous American Muslims is forcing them to choose between the structures of their faith and public education. The argument among many scholars is that public schools need not provide accommodation to indigenous American Muslims, although this may be possible if they do not establish religion, particularly if these schools give a secular reason that will benefit a big number of students. This would involve recognizing a positive effect to privacy options for the student who chooses to do something, for example (Khalifa & Gooden 313). However, with most indigenous American Muslims being African Americans, the funding for any such activity is already constrained by the budgets for inner city schools. Religious restrictions on diet have led to student requests in most indigenous schools that serve indigenous American Muslims, especially because some serve pork products (Khalifa & Gooden 314). However, school administrators have been unable to act on these requests because they raise practical and First Amendment issues. Schools with significant Muslim populations could also end up resisting the investing of money and time in accommodation as it could lead to friction with other students, especially since most African American schools have significantly bigger populations of practicing Christians. In addition, it will not be easy for the courts to compel cafeterias in schools to account for all religious requirements for the Muslim and other religious students. However, encouragingly, there are some schools that have taken to labeling food, whereas also providing selections to accommodate the religious needs of students, although most are made with the stated aim of accommodating dietary and healthy issues. Some accommodations that have been made for indigenous American Muslims concern their obligation to prayer (Khalifa & Gooden 314). However, most public schools will claim that excusal for Friday prayer may lead to class scheduling problems, which is especially prevalent in schools that have a large numbers of African Americans since some of them are bound to be Muslims. This overlooks the fact that there would be no legal barrier if the prayer time was construed to be release time. The Supreme Court in 1952, in Zorach v. Clausen, ruled that public schools were required to release students for religious off-campus religious programs (Khalifa & Gooden 315). However, most schools with big populations, such as that found in the inner city schools, may make it difficult to excuse the students for afternoon prayer while still maintaining control over them. Because prayer time is flexible, most schools in these areas expect their students to find a time for them to pray without affecting the class time. However, this is only possible from the high school level, which disadvantages Muslim students at lower levels. Finally, any designation of areas as prayer areas will be constitutionally challenged, which has held back most public school administrators to shy away from accommodating the need for prayer space for Muslims. Struggle for an Islamic-American Identity Mainstream Americans closely link the struggle for an Islamic-American identity to the perception of Muslims (Esposito 365). Some Islamic leaders consider Muslims identity, as well as its ramifications and meaning in the United States as the mother of all issues. This has been a central issue for North American Islamic Society, and lectures and books by convert and immigrant Muslims in America and foreign scholars who reflect on this subject. Searching for a relevant Islamic identity forms part of the Islamic-American experience with every immigrant generation bringing a sense of self that goes through constant redefinition and revision in the US melting pot context. Various aspects brought by immigrants and what they experience in America, influence the identity (Esposito 369). These aspects include US foreign policy in their countries, places they choose to settle in, diversity of those they choose to interact with, relations with older immigrant generations and indigenous Muslims, as well as their involvement in inter-faith initiatives. In the last ten years, the formation of an Islamic-American identity is also greatly influenced by the hostile attitude to Muslims by America where they are held accountable for deeds committed by Muslims overseas. Majority of Muslims in America view their world in the form of multiple modernities, instead of simply in the form of a Western-style secular paradigm (Esposito 370). This has clashed with the reality in the United States where most indigenous Americans expect the country’s social institutions to assimilate and accommodate the Muslims, while forging them into true Americans. There is a common view in the United States that survival of foreign culture from immigrants is a past relic that should give way to modernization and assimilation. This has been informed by the protestant ethos, which most contend is the United States’ foundation. In this situation, Muslims attempting to build an Islamic-American identity find that it is a struggle. Throughout the history of the US, various groups have had to play the outsider role, sometimes even referred to as the enemy role, with which Americans can reaffirm whom they are as a nation. Currently, it appears as if Muslims are playing this role and they are the antithesis of American character and threaten the nation’s righteous order (Esposito 370). This has played an important role in shaping the identity of American Muslims. The community’s identity and awareness that it is a minority with minimal power is enhanced in the milieu of the United States (Esposito 372). Most Muslims are of the belief that state and those who claim that the United States is a Judeo-Christian state violate religion separation. In the formation of an identity, American Muslims are aware that social life in the US is organized around religious organizations like churches. However, the separation of state and the church is welcomed as it gives to toleration of the American Muslim identity. Muslims find that freedom of religion guarantees offers new opportunities to experiment and develop ideas that are unequalled to their countries of origin (Esposito 373). Similarly, American Muslims who are committed to realism in the Islamic perception concept believe that God intended for the government to be regulated by the Qur’an’s religious decrees, whereas the state and religion should not be separated. For them, their identity should be one in which they believe their government is sanctioned by God and that only an Islamic one is fit for such a task. This has greatly hindered the formation of an American Muslim identity. The definition of an American Muslim identity has also been greatly influenced by the foreign policies of the United States towards Muslim countries in the last half decade (Esposito 380). Most of the policies have continued to alienate, as well as trouble, most American Muslims. Policy makers do not seem to have been greatly influenced by the dramatic interaction acceleration between the United States’ society and the Islamic society. The formation of American Muslim identities is especially affected by the support of the American government for Israel’s occupation of Palestinian lands, whereas refusing to accept any Islamist-backed governments from the Muslim world. Identity formation is particularly affected by the fact that the United States’ Constitution prohibits some of the actions carried out by American forces in the Middle East and in Guantanamo Bay. In addition, their support for Israel and its documented human rights, political, and civil violations of the Muslim and Christian citizens in former Palestinian lands, as well as its support for India, in spite of its brutal suppression of Kashmiri rights for self determination, have left some American Muslims in the identity crisis as the country they immigrated to does not support the same values in their foreign policy. Increasingly, the proclamations by the United States State Department regarding their advocacy for pluralism, human rights, and minority rights, which form an important foundation for US foreign policy, are increasingly taken as hypocrisy by young American Muslims attempting to form an identity (Esposito 381). Works Cited Aown, Najwa. "A place for informal learning in teaching about religion: The story of an experienced non-Muslim teacher and her learning about Islam." Teaching and Teacher Education (2011): 1255-1264. Print. Esposito, John. "The Future of Islam and U.S.–Muslim Relations." Political Science Quarterly (2011): 365-401. Print. Khalifa, Muhammad. & Gooden, Mark. "Between Resistance and Assimilation: A Critical Examination of American Muslim Educational Behaviors in Public Schools." The Journal of Negro Education (2010): 308-323. Print. Moore, James. "Teaching about Islam in Secondary Schools: Curricular and Pedagogical Considerations." Equity & Excellence in Education (2006): 279-286. Print. Read More