Speaking Up About Islam in Indiana

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Speaking Up About Islam in Indiana Posted: 04 Dec 2014 05:30 PM PST The following letter was written by Marilyn Dudley (an Act for America Chapter Leader in Terre Haute, Indiana) and published in the Nov. 18, 2014 edition of The Tribune Star: What’s in Your Child’s Textbook? For this past year, a number of people across the U.S. were organized to review textbooks up for adoption in Texas. The total number of books reviewed by this group was 32 high school and/or middle school textbooks. Cumulatively TTT (Truth in Texas Textbooks) reviewers compiled 469 pages of factual errors, imbalanced presentation of materials, omission of information, opinions disguised as facts and additionally questions found in the teachers’ editions that are considered “agenda building” or “leading questions” to conclusions not supported by facts. The evaluations have now been posted on a public website — truthintexastextbooks.com. As part of this effort, I helped grade these textbooks. The blatant lies, disinformation, anti-semitism, and the attacks (some subtle, some not) on America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and core values was prevalent in these books. Continually throughout these books there was an attempt by the publishers to paint Islam as if it were “peaceful” and just a religion instead of presenting the unvarnished truth about its monstrous ideology; that it is (a) a political system, (b) an ideology that prescribes death to those who opt out, (c) an organization with a religious front that is at war with all free nations, and (d) has been responsible for the deaths of over 270 million human beings. This group spent time finding factual evidence that backed up the findings, not only regarding the historical and current atrocities committed by Muslims, but also the secular humanists who promote moral relativism, trash our Constitution, blame America, and glorify Utopian re-distribution of wealth ideas. The textbooks say very little about America’s greatness and its goodness. There is a lack of emphasis on America’s military heroes. The stories of great men and women who fought and died to preserve our nation used to be a standard part of teaching our kids to be responsible, proud and patriotic citizens. In the proposed textbooks that publishers are attempting to foist onto our youth, there is a lack of material that would inspire patriotic allegiance to God and country. So you might ask why I would take the time to review textbooks that are being adopted in Texas. It is those textbooks that are adopted in Texas that will likely find their way into our own educational system in Indiana. As a citizen of Indiana, it is up to me and you to refuse to surrender this next generation of Americans to the evil change that is under way. Our government, under the guise of Common Core, is promoting this abomination into our schools. I ask everyone to take the time to see what is in your child’s textbook, go to the website identified above and look at the reviews, and take a stand to restore America as the land of the free and home of the brave. — Marilyn Dudley, Terre Haute, Indiana The following was written by Ramachandra B. Abhyankar, and published in the Reader's Forum of the Tribune Star here: Muslims Must Fight Hard to Reform Islam The excellent letter by Marilyn Dudley in the Nov. 18 Tribune-Star points out the political nature of Islam as it is today, unreformed and based on the Quran, Hadith and Sira. The current unreformed state of Islam prevents Muslims from coexisting peacefully with people of other cultures and religions. For example, the Quran instructs Muslims to “not befriend Jews and Christians”( 5:51), “to slay the idolaters” (9:5), to “smite the necks (behead) non-believers” (47:4), etc. It makes no sense to be teaching these hate-filled ideas in mosques and then expecting Muslims to not act on them. Unreformed Islam causes Muslims to persecute non-Muslims when Muslims are in a majority, and does not allow Muslims to live peacefully with non-Muslims when Muslims are in a minority. Unreformed Islam has brought disrepute to Muslims globally and has raised suspicions about Muslims in countries where they are in a minority. Unreformed Islam is hurting Muslims everywhere. Instead of bringing about reform in Islam, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) is seeking to criminalize the criticism of (unreformed) Islam everywhere. The United States Constitution is the best defense Americans have against “Sharia creep” and the curtailment of Freedom in the United States. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution must trump the efforts of the OIC. The basis for a reformed Islam can be found in the teachings of Jalaluddin Rumi, the mystic and poet who commands universal respect. In his book, “The Teachings of Rumi,” Andrew Harvey writes: “Rumi combined the intellect of a Plato, the vision and enlightened soul-force of a Buddha or a Christ, and the extravagant literary gifts of a Shakespeare.” As renowned scholars Ibn Warraq and Walid Phares point out, there is an ongoing “war of ideas.” A reformed Islam will allow Muslims to join non-Muslims for the common good of all. Muslim intellectuals need to engage in this war of ideas. Non-Muslims are looking up to Muslim intellectuals to bring about reform in Islam. This “war of ideas” must be won, for the benefit of both Muslims and non-Muslims. — Ramachandra B. Abhyankar