All schools in Augusta County, Virgina closed due to homework assignment about Islam.
74 replies, posted
[URL]http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/18/us/virginia-school-shut-islam-homework/index.html[/URL]
[QUOTE]
(CNN)After a teacher at a Virginia school handed out a standard homework assignment on [URL="http://www.cnn.com/2013/11/12/world/islam-fast-facts/"]Islam[/URL], such an angry backlash flooded in that it prompted officials to close every single school in the county as a safety precaution.
When the world geography class at Riverheads High School in Staunton rolled around to the subject of major world religions, homework on Islam asked students to copy religious calligraphy.
It read:
"Here is the shahada, the Islamic statement of faith, written in Arabic. In the space below, try copying it by hand. This should give you an idea of the artistic complexity of calligraphy.
[IMG]http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/151218023610-virginia-school-calligraphy-homework-assignment-islam-00000908-medium-plus-169.jpg[/IMG]
When students took it home, it was like a spark hitting a powder keg. Some of their parents saw the homework as an attempt to convert their children to Islam.
Calls and emails flooded the school. Some of them demanded the teacher be fired for assigning it.
The homework assignment in Staunton had ballooned into a national argument that was [URL="https://www.facebook.com/search/latest/?q=virginia%20augusta%20county%20public%20schools"]trending on Facebook.[/URL]
"This is so WRONG! There is only ONE GOD and HIS NAME is JESUS!" one user posted.
"You THINK ignorance is a GOOD thing!! Heaven forbid we should learn about other cultures when .03% of them are terrorists -- while more than 99% are good, honest, moral people," posted another.
[/QUOTE]
:v:
edit: alt sources
[url]https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/education/wp/2015/12/17/furor-over-arabic-assignment-leads-virginia-school-district-to-close-friday/[/url]
[url]http://www.whsv.com/content/news/Augusta-County-Sports-Activities-Cancelled-Thursday-Evening-362848381.html[/url]
I guess I can see how a religious parent might be a bit irked that students are being asked to copy this particular statement... but "a bit irked" should be the extent of it. Nobody's mad because it's a statement of faith, anyway, only because it happens to be the Islamic one. Like copying this instantly turns your child into a jihadi.
HOW DARE THEY MAKE MAH BOY TRY TO BECOME SOME BROWN MOOSLIM TURRORIST.
CALLIGRAPHY? WHAT'S THAT? SOUNDS LIKE SOMETHING A COMMIE WOULD KNOW, [I]AND I HATE COMMIES.[/I]
THE SOUTH WILL RISE AGAIN. mumble mumble
The backwoods of America are racist as all hell.
In other news the sky is blue.
Ignorance wins again
[QUOTE=Ivef;49347270]
"This is so WRONG! There is only ONE GOD and HIS NAME is JESUS!" one user posted.[/QUOTE]
Maybe a Christian here can correct me but isn't 'Jesus' the son of God, not God itself? I'm sad that the irony of that statement in this context is lost to that person.
[quote]"This is so WRONG! There is only ONE GOD and HIS NAME is JESUS!" one user posted.[/quote]
There is so much wrong with this comment that it just has to be satire.
I learned about Islam in Year 8, and there was never this sort of response from parents here :v:
Generally arabic writing is really technical looking to me and really cool, if only english cursive could be as wacked up as that.
[QUOTE=Ta16;49347310]Maybe a Christian here can correct me but isn't 'Jesus' the son of God, not God itself? [/QUOTE]
correct
I see Islamophobia is thriving.
[QUOTE=Ta16;49347310]Maybe a Christian here can correct me but isn't 'Jesus' the son of God, not God itself? I'm sad that the irony of that statement in this context is lost to that person.[/QUOTE]
Not only that, but the God worshipped in Christianity is the same God worshipped in Islam (and the same God worshipped in Judaism). Just each religion worships God in a different way.
[QUOTE=Ta16;49347310]Maybe a Christian here can correct me but isn't 'Jesus' the son of God, not God itself? I'm sad that the irony of that statement in this context is lost to that person.[/QUOTE]
Some Christian People tend to think God, Jesus, and the holy spirit as one being.
source: im christian & [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity[/url]
Holy shit, what is wrong with people.
Calligraphy is magic.
[QUOTE=Ta16;49347310]Maybe a Christian here can correct me but isn't 'Jesus' the son of God, not God itself? I'm sad that the irony of that statement in this context is lost to that person.[/QUOTE]
I believe some people consider Jesus as the physical manifestation of God because he's the son of God.
[QUOTE=Thomo_UK;49347316]I learned about Islam in Year 8, and there was never this sort of response from parents here :v:
Generally arabic writing is really technical looking to me and really cool, if only english cursive could be as wacked up as that.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, but I don't think we ever had to do arabic writing though. Plus, y'know, we aren't Americans. And I'm assuming that was a while ago, and if you factor in recent events...
[QUOTE=Cows Rule;49347356]I believe some people consider Jesus as the physical manifestation of God because he's the son of God.[/QUOTE]
So it's like when you answer the door and the UPS guy wants you to sign for your dad? :vs:
[QUOTE=Ta16;49347310]Maybe a Christian here can correct me but isn't 'Jesus' the son of God, not God itself? [/QUOTE]
Welcome to the past 1000+ years of Christian theology, that's been debated since the formation of the religion
[QUOTE=Ta16;49347310]Maybe a Christian here can correct me but isn't 'Jesus' the son of God, not God itself? I'm sad that the irony of that statement in this context is lost to that person.[/QUOTE]
He's both really, it's complicated
[QUOTE=Ta16;49347310]Maybe a Christian here can correct me but isn't 'Jesus' the son of God, not God itself? I'm sad that the irony of that statement in this context is lost to that person.[/QUOTE]
Depends on the denomination, just like any position there are hundreds of schools, but the way I understand it is that Yahushua(Jesus) can be understood as an avatar, incarnation, or physical human instantiation of God. Ie. what he would be squeezed into a human shell. Drawing a distinction then is both true and false. In the case of the comment in question, it doesn't really apply, as his official "God Name" would be YHWH which purportedly is the same as Allah.
Arabic calligraphy is pretty ugly IMO but those are some terrible responses.
I wouldn't want a school assigning its students to write 'Jesus is the one true savior' in flowery script either. Asking students to copy some calligraphy as an exercise is totally reasonable, but asking them to write out a statement of adherence to a religious faith is stepping over some bounds IMO.
[QUOTE=Ta16;49347310]Maybe a Christian here can correct me but isn't 'Jesus' the son of God, not God itself? I'm sad that the irony of that statement in this context is lost to that person.[/QUOTE]
The different types of Christianity argue back and forth about that concept, so it's tricky to answer.
If you ask a Catholic, the answer is no. Catholics believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are "one God in three Persons" as the Trinity describes. There are other branches of Christianity that don't share the same belief, however, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses.
[QUOTE=Wii60;49347336]Some Christian People tend to think God, Jesus, and the holy spirit as one being.
source: im christian & [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity[/url][/QUOTE]
that's almost as silly as pretending to eat someone to gain their power
(i cant stop making fun of metaphorical cannibalism I'm so sorry)
[QUOTE=Wii60;49347336]Some Christian People tend to think God, Jesus, and the holy spirit as one being.
source: im christian & [url]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity[/url][/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Cows Rule;49347356]I believe some people consider Jesus as the physical manifestation of God because he's the son of God.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=FingerSpazem;49347529]He's both really, it's complicated[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Zenreon117;49347706]Depends on the denomination, just like any position there are hundreds of schools, but the way I understand it is that Yahushua(Jesus) can be understood as an avatar, incarnation, or physical human instantiation of God. Ie. what he would be squeezed into a human shell. Drawing a distinction then is both true and false. In the case of the comment in question, it doesn't really apply, as his official "God Name" would be YHWH which purportedly is the same as Allah.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=Cheshire_cat;49347738]The different types of Christianity argue back and forth about that concept, so it's tricky to answer.
If you ask a Catholic, the answer is no. Catholics believe that the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are "one God in three Persons" as the Trinity describes. There are other branches of Christianity that don't share the same belief, however, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses.[/QUOTE]
Wow. I did not expect FPers to come together in such a large wave of answers, thank you for the clarification guys.
[I]Meanwhile, inside the Legion of [del]Doom[/del] Islam[/I]
"Dammit Said, we were so close to converting all those high school students Muslim! How did they get coy to our plans? Next time, American teenagers, next time!"
I mean you guys wouldn't want teachers handing out assignments telling them to write "Jesus Christ is the one true son of God" in hebrew, would you? Why is this different?
[QUOTE=soulharvester;49348093]I mean you guys wouldn't want teachers handing out assignments telling them to write "Jesus Christ is the one true son of God" in hebrew, would you? Why is this different?[/QUOTE]
I'd be ok with my kids writing any sort of religiously significant text as part of studying that religion, personally.
[QUOTE]parents saw the homework as an attempt to convert their children to Islam[/QUOTE]
You are a retard if you really think this is the scheme.
[QUOTE]This is so WRONG! There is only ONE GOD and HIS NAME is JESUS![/QUOTE]
Rational people can have their beliefs and still tolerate or learn about other cultures.
[QUOTE=Ta16;49347310]Maybe a Christian here can correct me but isn't 'Jesus' the son of God, not God itself? I'm sad that the irony of that statement in this context is lost to that person.[/QUOTE]
It's god's son but also god himself but also not really and a prophet if you ask a different religion but also a martyr and kind of a saint but not really
So yes
[QUOTE=Antdawg;49347324]Not only that, but the God worshipped in Christianity is the same God worshipped in Islam (and the same God worshipped in Judaism). Just each religion worships God in a different way.[/QUOTE]
I had a couple of wackos in another thread trying to convince me otherwise. I found that odd.
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