Parents sue public high school for 'religious indoctrination' after their daughter was 'forced to convert to Islam in world history class'
- John and Melissa Wood claim their 16-year-old daughter was 'indoctrinated into Islam' during world history class at La Plata High School in Maryland
- Lawsuit claims students had to 'memorize and recite the Five Pillars of Islam and were subjected to disparaging teachings about Christianity'
- Suit also claims Mr Wood was banned from the school after complaining
- The incidents allegedly occurred during the 2014-15 school year
- The school has not addressed the lawsuit or the world history curriculum
The
parents of a Maryland teenager have launched a lawsuit against their
daughter's public high school, claiming the district forced the
16-year-old to take classes that promote Islam over Christianity and
Judaism.
John
Wood, a former Marine, and his wife Melissa Wood, have filed a civil
rights complaint against La Plata High School, alleging their daughter -
identified only as C.W. - spent one day in a modern history class
studying Christianity, followed by two weeks immersed in Islam.
According
to court documents obtained by The Daily Mail Online, the 11th grader
'had to profess the Shahada by claiming ''There is no god but Allah and
Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.'''
'Such
discriminatory treatment of Christianity is an unconstitutional
promotion of one religion over another,' President and Chief Counsel of
the Thomas More Law Center Richard Thompson said.
'Parents must be ever vigilant to the
Islamic indoctrination of their children': John Wood, a former Marine,
and his wife Melissa Wood, have filed a civil rights complaint against
La Plata High School in Maryland
Thompson claims that, for non-Muslims, reciting such a statement is the equivalent of converting to Islam.
He
also said the school failed to clearly make known to students and their
families that a study of Islam was to be part of the world history
curriculum.
Students
were also required to memorize and recite the Five Pillars of Islam and
were subjected to disparaging teachings about Christianity, the Woods
claim.
'The
course also taught false statements such as Allah is the same God
worshiped by Christians and Islam is a '''religion of peace'',' Thompson
said in the filings.
World history: Maryland high school is being sued for teaching religious studies to students
'A
school cannot achieve diversity by punishing and alienating students
who hold Judeo-Christian beliefs, while bolstering the doctrines and
teachings of other religions.
'Parents
must be ever vigilant to the Islamic indoctrination of their children
under the guise of teaching history and multiculturalism.
'This is happening in public schools across the country. And they must take action to stop it.'
Additionally, the suit claims that Mr Wood was banned from the school grounds after complaining about the curriculum.
Mr Wood served eight years in the Marine Corps and was deployed in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
He was also deployed to the Pentagon as a firefighter during the September 11 attacks.
The
suit also says that, following Mr Wood's complaint, he was told his
daughter would fail the subject if she were to pull out.
The
family is asking for declaratory and injunctive relief barring the
promotion of Islam over other religions on school grounds.
They also want the no-trespass order against Mr Wood to be lifted.
La Plata High School has not yet
addressed claims that a world history class had students 'memorize and
recite the Five Pillars of Islam and were subjected to disparaging
teachings about Christianity'
The
defendants are named in the suit as Charles County Public Schools, the
Charles County Board of Education, La Plata High School principal Evelyn
Arnold and vice-principal Shannon Morris.
A Charles County Public Schools spokesman refused to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by local newspaper The Bay Net this week.
'We are aware of the lawsuit, but we have not yet been served,' the spokesperson said.
'We cannot comment further at this time.'
However, the school did send a statement to WTOP, clarifying the curriculum of their world history class.
'The
particular unit in question is on the formation of Middle Eastern
empires in which students learned the basic concepts of the Islamic
faith and how it, along with politics, culture, economics and geography,
contributed to the development of the Middle East,' the statement said.
'Other
religions are introduced when they influence or impact a particular
historical era or geographic region. For example, when reviewing the
Renaissance and Reformation, students study the concepts and role of
Christianity.
'When learning about the development of China and India, students examine Hinduism and Buddhism.'
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