“A Matter of Life and Death: Homegrown Terrorists”
by Donna Garner
12.12.10
Today, 12.12.10, Pamela Geller in Human Events has published a disturbing article about Mohamed Osman Mohamud, the homegrown terrorist in Portland, Oregon, who tried to kill 25,000 “infidels” at the Christmas tree lighting ceremony.
We now know that Mohamud was born in Somalia but grew up in Beaverton, Oregon, where he graduated from Westview High School. He went to Oregon State University but dropped out in Oct. 6, 2010. Mohamud is indeed a homegrown terrorist.
Geller asks, “Who is putting these ideas into the heads of young Muslims? Where is this anti-West, genocidal ideology coming from?” Geller goes on to say that the mosques must be monitored, and I agree with her concerns.
However, I believe there is yet another source for the hatred these homegrown terrorists such as Mohamud, feel for the United States: They have sat for years in the public (and the Gulen charter schools) being indoctrinated against the West through pro-Islam/anti-Christian, anti-Judeo textbooks.
Below Geller’s article, I have posted my article (9.23.10), “Protecting Our Nation: Important Vote by SBOE.” In this article, I have quoted Robert S. Mueller, the Director of the FBI, as he spoke to a Senate committee on 9.22.10 in which he detailed the alarming rise of homegrown terrorism.
At that committee meeting, the chair, Sen. Joe Lieberman, stated, “Since 2009, at least 63 American citizens have been charged or convicted for terrorism or related crimes, an astoundingly high number of American citizens who have attacked -- or intended to attack -- their own country,"
Next, I have posted my
articles (9.24.10) entitled “Teachers’ Influence Over Students
and “A Huge Victory for Our Nation’s Schools.” The latter details what
happened at the Texas State Board of Education
meeting in which a resolution
against pro-Islam/anti-Christian, anti-Judeo textbooks was passed.
(Explicit documentation of textbook bias is
included.)
For the safety of all Americans, we need to address assertively the root causes for homegrown terrorism; and I believe other states must do what Texas has done by demanding that publishers not fill their textbooks with biased content which embitters students against our country.
Donna Garner
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Cell phone video emerged Wednesday of Mohamed Osman Mohamud, the Muslim
in Oregon who attempted to bomb Pioneer Courthouse Square at a point when
25,000 infidels had gathered there during a Christmas tree lighting
ceremony. ... This is clearly an American Muslim, steeped in American
culture, who wants to destroy America. And the motive? Islam.
In the video, Mohamud says: “You know what the
whole West thing is? They want to insult our religion. They want to take our
lands. They want to rape our women while we’re bowing down to them....”
Mohamud also shows his violent streak, saying of
someone unknown: “If I met him, I would get five, six Muslims, beat the
(expletive) out of him.” Why? Because apparently this person insulted
Muhammad the Islamic prophet....That’s something I have zero tolerance for.
When it comes to our prophet, nobody can say anything. They’re calling it
freedom of speech. It’s not freedom of speech.”
Meanwhile, the would-be bomber’s mosque, which
almost immediately claimed that arson had destroyed records in their
office, should be questioned. ...
The arson attack against the Portland mosque was,
in my opinion, an attempt to deflect attention away from the blame that the
mosque deserves for giving the world Mohamed Mohamud. Who is putting these
ideas into the heads of young Muslims? Where is this anti-West, genocidal
ideology coming from?
Pamela Geller is the editor and publisher of the Atlas Shrugs website and former associate publisher of the New York Observer. Her op-eds have appeared in the Washington Times, WorldNetDaily, the American Thinker, Israel National News and other publications.
=================================================================
“Protecting Our Nation: Important Vote by SBOE”
by Donna Garner
9.23.10
The decision made by the Texas State Board of Education tomorrow, 9.24.10, has widespread implications for the security of our nation.
If our public school textbooks are indoctrinating students by emphasizing pro-Islam/anti-Christian, anti-Judeo bias, then children reading these textbooks slowly but surely become indoctrinated and are vulnerable to those who promote terrorism against the U. S.
Domestic terrorism is definitely on the rise. Robert S. Mueller, III, Director of the FBI, just yesterday (9.22.10) reported to the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs:
Groups affiliated with al Qaeda are now actively targeting the United States and looking to use Americans or Westerners who are able to remain undetected by heightened security measures…In addition, it appears domestic radicalization and homegrown extremism is becoming more pronounced, based on the number of disruptions and incidents…
At the same committee meeting, the chair, Sen. Joe Lieberman, stated, “Since 2009, at least 63 American citizens have been charged or convicted for terrorism or related crimes, an astoundingly high number of American citizens who have attacked -- or intended to attack -- their own country,"
Let’s look at just two of these homegrown terrorists:
8.7.10 -- “Federal officials in the United States say the former Broward Community College student [Adnan Shukrijumah] spent 15 years in South Florida with his mother and five siblings is now head of global operations for al Qaeda…
According to his mom, Shukrijumah does have very strong feelings about American policy as it pertains to the Muslim world…He is accused, and has been charged by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn, of being the person who recruiting and training three New Yorkers to plan a series of attacks on the New York City subway system...
Shukrijumah learned English later in his youth. As a young adult in 1997, he participated in an ‘English as a Second Language’ class…Shukrijumah enrolled at Broward Community College, and earned money on the side working as a freelance computer technician. (http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/kind_mom_says_son_terrorist_not_aBCgnOItZOI6AXv57TASMP#ixzz0vz7bVsct) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adnan_Gulshair_el_Shukrijumah#Early_years)
8.5.10 -- “In another case…, a 26-year-old Chicago man who told an FBI informant that he didn't expect to reach the age of 30 was charged with plotting to go to Somalia to become a suicide bomber for al-Qaida and al-Shabab.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/05/AR2010080503683.html
Both of these young men were students in the United States, and both may have been influenced by the pro-Islam/anti-Christian, anti-Judeo bias that is found in students’ social studies textbooks.
Ideas planted in the minds of students while they were young may very well have made them vulnerable to Islamofacists and their terrorist plans.
The Resolution is widely supported by those Americans who are concerned that our public schools using biased textbooks may be helping to spread homegrown terrorism.
http://www.educationnews.org/commentaries/100024.html
=========================================================
Following are excerpts from FBI Director Robert Mueller’s testimony before the Senate Committee yesterday:
http://www.fbi.gov/congress/congress10/mueller092210.htm
Robert S. Mueller,
III
Director
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Statement Before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
September 22, 2010
Excerpts from this report:
Since 9/11, many of the terrorist threats facing the United States endure, but some are also evolving and transforming in ways that present new challenges. Despite significant counterterrorism pressure abroad, al Qaeda remains committed to advancing attack plans directed at the West, including plans against Europe and the homeland. The group’s efforts to recruit, train, and deploy operatives to execute attacks worldwide, but specifically in the United States, were demonstrated with the arrest of Najibullah Zazi, who was plotting to attack the New York City subway system. Groups affiliated with al Qaeda are now actively targeting the United States and looking to use Americans or Westerners who are able to remain undetected by heightened security measures—as seen with the attempted airline bombing on Christmas Day 2009 and the failed car bombing in New York’s Times Square in May. In addition, it appears domestic radicalization and homegrown extremism is becoming more pronounced, based on the number of disruptions and incidents…
The investigation of Najibullah Zazi is an example of how the FBI used its intelligence and law enforcement tools to collect valuable intelligence on a subject’s network. Zazi was arrested in September 2009 and on February 22, 2010 pled guilty to terrorism charges related to his plans to attack the New York City subway system. His two New York-based associates were indicted in January 2010.
Also in September of last year, FBI special agents arrested Michael C. Finton in Illinois and Hosam Smadi in Texas for unrelated bomb plots. The FBI used online undercover FBI agents and confidential human sources who continuously monitored the activities of these violent extremist subjects up to the time of their arrests.
U.S. citizen David Headley was arrested in October 2009 in Chicago for planning terrorist attacks against a Danish newspaper and two of its employees. During the course of this investigation, the FBI collected intelligence that uncovered Headley’s operational role in the 2008 attacks in Mumbai, India, and connected him to a separate plot to kill an individual in Denmark. On January 14, 2010, a superseding indictment was filed against Headley relating to his conspiring with others to plan and execute attacks in both Denmark and India, and in March 2010, he pled guilty on all counts.
In January 2010, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab was charged in a six-count criminal indictment for his alleged role in the attempted Christmas Day bombing of Northwest Airlines flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit. Within days of the Christmas Day attack, the FBI established a Yemen fusion cell to coordinate intelligence and counterterrorism assets in response to al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula’s (AQAP’s) threat to the United States homeland and United States interests overseas. The FBI gained critical intelligence from the questioning of Abdulmutallab and shared all relevant information with our partners in the intelligence and law enforcement communities.
In May 2010, Faisal Shahzad attempted to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, an attack for which Tehrik-e-Taliban in Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility. The FBI forensics and technical experts developed crucial evidence aiding this fast-moving terrorism investigation. Equally important, the intelligence gained from this investigation was voluminous and significant and shared expeditiously with our domestic and foreign partners…
In the past year, the United States has been center stage as the focus for a number of terrorist plots that primarily come from three sources: core al Qaeda, al Qaeda’s affiliates, and homegrown extremists..
The 2009 plot led by Najibullah Zazi to attack the New York subway was the first known instance since 9/11 that al Qaeda had successfully deployed a trained operative into the United States. The fact that Zazi and his associates had access to the United States and were familiar with the environment here from an operational security and targeting perspective demonstrates how al Qaeda can leverage Americans. The potential exists for al Qaeda to use and train other Americans for additional homeland attacks. Identifying these individuals is among the FBI’s highest counterterrorism priorities…
The failed attempt by Faizal Shahzad to detonate a vehicle rigged with explosive devices in Times Square in May 2010 was the first time we had seen TTP, a Pakistan-based terrorist group, expand its operational focus from attacks within its immediate region to plotting attacks against the U.S. homeland.
The attempted Christmas Day bombing of the Northwest flight to Detroit also represented the first time AQAP attempted an attack against the United States, already having demonstrated its ability to target U.S. interests in Yemen. Much like al Qaeda, AQAP was able to identify a willing recruit who was committed to attacking the United States and whose background did not raise traditional security scrutiny. Like core al Qaeda’s use of Zazi, TTP’s use of Shazhad—a naturalized U.S. citizen who had lived for years in the United States—to attempt to attack the homeland underscores the operational roles Americans can play for al Qaeda and its affiliates…
During the past year, the threat from radicalization has evolved. A number of disruptions occurred involving extremists from a diverse set of backgrounds, geographic locations, life experiences, and motivating factors that propelled them along their separate radicalization pathways. Beyond the sheer number of disruptions and arrests that have come to light, homegrown extremists are increasingly more savvy, harder to detect, and able to connect with other extremists overseas…
While difficult to measure, it is possible more American extremists are feeling increasingly disenchanted with living in the United States or angry about U.S. and Western foreign policy, making their decision to leave for extremist opportunities abroad all the more appealing. The increase in extremist propaganda in English may also have an impact…
Moreover, as the Internet continues to shape the way American society engages in so much of our daily lives and routines, so too has it had a profound impact on the radicalization dynamic. The Internet has expanded as a platform for spreading extremist propaganda, a tool for online recruiting, and a medium for social networking with like-minded violent extremists, all of which may be contributing to the pronounced state of radicalization inside the United States…
Donna Garner
=================================================================
9.24.10
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/jihadists-making-themselves-at-home-in-philadelphia/2/
Teachers and textbooks are so very important in the classroom because students look to them as knowledgeable sources. If textbooks contain pro-Islam/anti-Christian, anti-Judeo bias, then teachers feel justified in presenting that bias to their students.
Today at the Texas State Bd. of Education meeting, a Resolution will be voted on. This Resolution tells textbook publishers that no longer will their books be adopted if they continue to include pro-Islam/anti-Christian, anti-Judeo bias. Many examples of documented bias accompany the Resolution.
What many people may not have tied together is that biased teachers and textbooks have the power to set students up for radicalization to become homegrown terrorists. Please go to the following link to see what Robert Mueller, FBI Director, told Congress on 9.22.10.
http://www.educationnews.org/index.php?news=100617
Ryan Mauro’s article points out what is happening in Philadelphia. She points out that Pennsylvania coincidentally is the home of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish imam who has managed to infiltrate our country through charter schools.
The University of Houston has the Gulen Institute. Please go to http://www.guleninstitute.org/ to find out how Gulen has managed to indoctrinate Americans all over this country, many of whom are involved now in Turkish charter schools (e.g., Harmony Science Academies).
More links to information about Gulen:
http://www.newswest9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12593025
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-08-17-turkishfinal17_CV_N.htm
Please watch these YouTubes to see the indoctrination of impressionable Muslim children who are directed to hate Christians and Jews:
http://www.memritv.org/clip/en/2066.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjbJnZUJTYU&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FP6xQ2fDzcg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnOdD46WI0M
Donna Garner
====================================================================
[I listened to the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) meeting online and tried to take careful notes. I have reported on the meeting as close to the chronological order as possible. -- Donna Garner]
“A Huge Victory for Our Nation’s Schools”
by Donna Garner
9.24.10
The Texas State Board of Education has passed on a 7 to 6 vote the entire Resolution (except for Attachment #3) as posted at the bottom of this article.
Those SBOE members voting for the Resolution were: David Bradley, Barbara Cargill, Cynthia Dunbar, Don McLeroy, Terri Leo, Gail Lowe, and Ken Mercer.
Those SBOE members voting against were: Geraldine Miller, Pat Hardy, Lawrence Allen, Mavis Knight, Bob Craig, Rick Agosto. Mary Helen Berlanga and Rene Nunez were absent for the vote.
This Resolution sends a warning to textbook publishers that if their books contain pro-Islam/anti-Christian, anti-Judeo bias in the future, those books will be rejected by the Board.
SBOE Chair Gail Lowe began today’s meeting by saying that a private citizen [Randy Rives of Odessa] brought the Resolution before the SBOE at its July meeting. Then four SBOE members asked that the Resolution be brought forth today for a vote by the full Board.
Attorney David Anderson is the General Counsel for the Texas Education Agency. He made it clear that a Resolution is an expression of the opinion of the Board but has no legal impact on any textbooks.
Ms. Lowe also explained that the reason the explicit examples brought forth in the Resolution are taken from World History books in adoption from 1999 through 2003 is that under Board rules (adopted preceding Lowe’s chairmanship), the Board cannot address textbooks that are in the classrooms today. Those can only be addressed in official business during the 90 days within the adoption process. However, Lowe said the Board could talk about books currently in the classrooms but could not include examples from them in the Resolution.
SBOE Member Ken Mercer pointed out that the new Social Studies standards (TEKS) adopted in May 2010, require textbooks to cover the seven major religions of the world (i.e., Sikhism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity, Confucianism) and that the Resolution tells textbook publishers that they must treat these seven religions in an accurate, balanced, and fair manner.
Mr. Mercer and SBOE Member David Bradley said that publishers are listening very carefully to the SBOE discussions because of the influence of Texas textbooks throughout the schools in other parts of the U. S.
Kathy Miller of the left-leaning Texas Freedom Network (TFN) testified first. She admitted that she had never talked to Randy Rives about his Resolution.
Several members of the Board including SBOE Member Rene Nunez attempted to “shoot the messenger” by pointing out that Randy Rives was a candidate for the SBOE in the March primaries.
Board Member Terri Leo pointed out that it is not uncommon for political candidates (e.g., Donna Howard) who feel passionate about the importance of the SBOE to testify and/or present written documents.
Attorney Jonathan Saenz of Liberty Institute (LI), an organization that has argued court cases all the way from the lower courts to the U. S. Supreme Court, said LI finds it ironic that TFN gathered up signatures of “pastors” to support TFN’s contentions; yet TFN strongly supports the separation of church and state.
This prompted David Bradley, SBOE member, to reiterate his offer of $1,000 to anybody who can find the words “separation of church and state” in the U. S. Constitution. Even testifier Frank Knaack of the ACLU of Texas had to concur that those words are not in the Constitution.
Bob Craig, SBOE member, complained that a textbook publisher had objected to wording in the Resolution; but SBOE Member Leo said she had doubts that any publisher would ever admit to bias in his/her company’s textbooks.
SBOE members Leo and Don McLeroy both pointed out that in the Table of Contents of a World History book adopted in 2003 (used in Texas classrooms today) that pro-Islam terms are mentioned 27 times with Christianity mentioned twice and Judaism only once. The lone mention of Judaism is on a map of “Israeli occupied territory.”
Mavis Knight, SBOE Member, asked circuitous questions of the Texas Education Agency staff trying to get the Agency to verify whether students in Texas read their textbooks cover-to-cover and/or whether teachers use their own curriculum materials.
Anita Givens of the TEA, trying to be very tactful in answering Knight’s questions, replied politely that the Agency only knows to which schools textbooks have been shipped but has no way of knowing how students and teachers utilize them.
Ms. Leo pointed out a statement from one of the textbooks she looked through that says “Islam treats women with more respect than other religions.” She pointed out the bias and inaccuracy of this statement when considering the difficulties of Muslim women who wear burkas, are stoned to death, and/or have their fingers cut off as punishment for Islam infractions.
Both Mrs. Mary Bruner and her husband Anthony Bruner testified. They are retired educators with many years of experience in the classroom. They said that the bias in textbooks is distorting students’ worldviews and that the positive portrayal of Islam vs. the negative portrayal of Christianity in students’ textbooks must cease.
As a point of information, Terri Leo verified that the SBOE has no authority to review Advanced Placement textbooks.
Ms. Mary Parks, a Texas mother who testified, pointed out, “The hand that rocks the cradle is the hand that rocks the world.” She commended the fine work that the SBOE has done to write new Social Studies standards (TEKS); but she wants an assurance from the Board that the pro-Islam/anti-Christian, anti-Judeo bias will cease in students’ textbooks.
Pastor Dave Welch of the Texas Pastors Council said he represented real pastors with real churches and that TFN and Americans United for Separation of Church and State do not represent the churches of Texas.
Welch said his organization wants to make sure that the Resolution is explicit and definitely tells publishers that textbooks must cover the seven major world religions with balance, fairness, accuracy, and proportionality.
Welch also made it clear that his organization had spoken out against the recent incident involving the threat by a pastor to burn the Quran.
Several Board members complained that they had not had enough time to study the Resolution, but Gail Lowe pointed out that the Resolution had been presented in the July SBOE meeting and that two weeks ago she had also sent every Board member a copy of the Resolution with an invitation to submit changes. No changes were forthcoming.
SBOE Member Pat Hardy, who used to teach Social Studies, pointed out that in textbooks from 1992-96, the word “jihad” was defined as a “struggle.” She said current events have changed the meaning of various terms. She also complained that when she visited with textbook publishers about the terms “Sunni and “Shi’a,” the publishers seemed uninformed.
Barbara Cargill, SBOE member, said that when she received the Resolution eight weeks ago at the July meeting, she immediately began to look at her own public school children’s textbooks. She found on p. 347 a section entitled “Why Crusades Matter” and a discussion of the atrocities committed during the Crusades by the Christians. However, there was nothing that explained the massive oppression and violence committed by the Muslims. Cargill said this leaves students with a false image of history.
Ms. Cargill found an entire chapter on Islam with an emphasis on the “benefits and practices” of Islam. When she looked at other chapters on ancient Rome and early Christianity, she found no “benefits and practices” verbiage. She also did not find the “benefits and practices” of Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, nor Sikhism either.
On p. 345 in Cargill’s son’s textbook, she found a vivid account of the slaughter of Muslims but found no mention of the slaughter of Christians nor of any other religious groups.
Lawrence Allen, the lone Muslim on the SBOE, complained bitterly against the Resolution.
Mr. Mercer again stressed that the balanced treatment of the seven major religions needs to be accurate without presenting partial information and omitting other important information.
Mercer said the strong political ideology of anti-American/anti-Christian has been occurring in our country for the last twenty to thirty years; and he took exception with those who condemn the SBOE members’ attempts to bring balance, fairness, and accuracy to the issue.
Gerri Wyatt [unsure about spelling of her name] brought her twin sons to the SBOE meeting. They are in Grade 5, and she pulled out their Social Studies textbook (c. 2008). She pointed to Chapter 3 (pp. 100 - 119) that was entitled “Life in the Eastern Hemisphere.” This was a chapter on trade and travel during 500 to 1500 A. D.
Ms. Wyatt read off example after example where the Muslim influence was emphasized, but only one reference was made to Christianity -- a caption under a picture of the Bible and a statement that Guttenberg had printed the first Bible on his printing press.
Ms. Leo added that the Council for Islamic Education (referenced by Wikipedia) is an organization that gets pre-copies of textbooks and then tries to influence the publishers.
SBOE Member Don McLeroy in 9.1.01 submitted an essay to publishers in which he explained in detail the missing piece left out of World History books -- the benefits to the world of the rise of Medieval Christendom.
McLeroy said in reviewing the 2003 World History books (still in Texas classrooms today), he found no emphasis on the two gigantic turning points in the history of the world -- the discovery of monotheism by the Jews and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Mr. Craig made a motion to edit and water down the language in the Resolution. That failed 7 to 6. He also made a motion to delay and put the Resolution on the Nov. SBOE meeting agenda. That motion also failed.
SBOE Member Geraldine Miller said she could not vote for the Resolution and said she could support Mr. Craig’s motion to delay but not the Resolution itself.
Ms. Cynthia Dunbar, SBOE member, said she had heard several references during the meeting today that asserted “experts” needed to be called in to confirm information on the Crusades; but she listed a long list of credentialed professors and well-known historians who have already cited documentation to show that the Crusades were an attempt to stop the rapid and violent spread of Islam.
After voting for the entire Resolution 7 to 6, the Board came back awhile later and decided to remove Appendix #3 because of perhaps some technical errors.
================================================================
R E S O L U T I O N
PASSED BY THE TEXAS STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
9.24.10
WHEREAS pro-Islamic/anti-Christian bias has tainted some past Texas Social Studies textbooks, such as:
• In one instance, devoting 120 student text lines to Christian beliefs, practices, and holy writings but 248 (more than twice as many) to those of Islam; and dwelling for 27 student text lines on Crusaders' massacre of Muslims at Jerusalem in 1099 yet censoring Muslims' massacres of Christians there in 1244 and at Antioch in 1268, implying that Christian brutality and Muslim loss of life are significant but Islamic cruelty and Christian deaths are not (see documentation in Appendix I-A);
• In another instance, allotting 82 student text lines to Christian beliefs, practices, and holy writings but 159 (almost twice as many) to those of Islam; describing Crusaders' massacres of European Jews yet ignoring the Muslim Tamerlane's massacre of perhaps 90,000 co-religionists at Baghdad in 1401, and of perhaps 100,000 Indian POWs at Delhi in 1398; thrice charging medieval Christians with sexism; and saying the Church "laid the foundations for anti-Semitism" (see documentation in Appendix I-B);
• In a third instance, spending 139 student text lines on Christian beliefs, practices, and holy writings but 176 on those of Islam; claiming Islam "brought untold wealth to thousands and a better life to millions," while "because of [Europeans' Christian] religious zeal … many peoples died and many civilizations were destroyed;" and contrasting "the Muslim concern for cleanliness" with Swedes in Russia who were "the filthiest of God's creatures" (see documentation in Appendix I-C); and,
WHEREAS pro-Islamic/anti-Christian half-truths, selective disinformation, and false editorial stereotypes still roil some Social Studies textbooks nationwide, evidenced by:
• Patterns of pejoratives towards Christians and superlatives toward Muslims, calling Crusaders aggressors, "violent attackers," or "invaders" while euphemizing Muslim conquest of Christian lands as "migrations" by "empire builders" (see documentation in Appendix II);
• Politically-correct whitewashes of Islamic culture and stigmas on Christian civilization, indicting Christianity for the same practices (e.g., sexism, slavery, persecution of out-groups) that they treat non-judgmentally, minimize, sugarcoat, or censor in Islam (see documentation in Appendix II);
• Sanitized definitions of "jihad" that exclude religious intolerance or military aggression against non-Muslims – even though Islamic sources often include these among proper meanings of the term – which undergirds worldwide Muslim terrorism; and,
WHEREAS more such discriminatory treatment of religion may occur as Middle Easterners buy into the U.S. public school textbook oligopoly, as they are now doing; and
WHEREAS Texas' elected State Board of Education (SBOE) is a principal democratic check and balance on otherwise often-unresponsive editors and -unaccountable authors, making the SBOE the premiere venue for Texans' effective exercise of the constitutional right of petition to redress curricular grievances; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the SBOE, that diverse reviewers have repeatedly documented gross pro-Islamic/anti-Christian distortions in Social Studies texts; that Social Studies TEKS cannot provide relief, because they tell what a course should cover, not all it should avoid; that under Texas Education Code §28.002(h) and (i), the SBOE must enforce "the basic democratic values of our state and national heritage;" that chronic partiality to one of the world's great religions, and animus against another, flout democratic values and the letter and spirit of this rule; and that Texas Administrative Code §66.66(c)(4) provides, "[N]o instructional material may be adopted that contains content that clearly conflicts with the stated purpose of the Texas Education Code, §28.002(h)" (emphasis added); and be it further
RESOLVED, That the SBOE will look to reject future prejudicial Social Studies submissions that continue to offend Texas law with respect to treatment of the world's major religious groups by significant inequalities of coverage space-wise and/or by demonizing or lionizing one or more of them over others, as in the above-cited instances.
[I have
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Appendix I-A |
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WORLD HISTORY: Patterns of Interaction (McDougal, 1999), approved for Texas high schools from 1999 to 2003, devoted 120 student text lines to Christian beliefs, practices, and holy writings, less than half its 248 on Islamic beliefs, practices, and holy writings; and dwelled for 27 student text lines on Crusaders’ massacre of Muslims at Jerusalem in 1099 while censoring Muslims’ massacres of Christians there in 1244 and at Antioch in 1268. |
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SE 40, bottom right par., lines 1-3 and 6-9 |
7 lines on Christian beliefs and practices |
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SE 138, lower left, "Religious and Ethical Systems," lines 9-12 |
4 lines on Christian beliefs |
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SE 153, par. 5, lines 2-8 |
7 lines on Jesus Christ’s work and teachings |
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SE 154, par. 1, lines 3-10 |
8 lines on Jesus Christ’s teachings, including a 5-line quote from Luke’s Gospel |
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SE 154, par. 3 |
6 lines on Christian beliefs |
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SE 155, par. 3, lines 6-10 |
5 lines on Christian beliefs, including a 2-line quote by Paul |
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SE 156, par. 1, lines 2-7 |
6 lines on Christian beliefs and practices |
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SE 157, par. 3, line 5 – par. 4 |
10 lines on Christian beliefs |
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SE 201, par. 1, lines 3-4 |
2 lines on Christian beliefs |
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SE 230, top left, "Religious and Ethical Systems," line 1 |
1 line on Islamic beliefs |
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SE 234, par. 4, line 4 – par. 5 |
11 lines on Islamic beliefs, including a 3-line quote from the Koran |
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SE 235, "SPOTLIGHT ON," par. 2, lines 1-6 |
6 lines on Islamic beliefs |
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SE 236 – SE 237, par. 4, line 6 |
87 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices, including a 3-line quote from the Koran |
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SE 236, left margin, picture caption |
13 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices |
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SE 236, right margin, picture caption |
9 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices |
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SE 237, right box, "Daily Life" |
23 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices |
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SE 243, par. 1 |
12 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices, including 3 lines of quotes from the Koran |
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SE 243, par. 3, lines 8-11 |
4-line quote from Mohammed |
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SE 246, "A VOICE FROM THE PAST" |
8-line quote from Islamic religious literature |
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SE 246, par. 6, lines 3-5 |
3 lines on Islamic beliefs |
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SE 248, bottom right box, "Religion," lines 1-7 |
7 lines on Islamic beliefs |
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SE 254, top par., lines 4-7 |
4 lines on Christian beliefs |
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SE 254, right par., "Ritual" |
8 lines on Christian beliefs and practices |
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SE 254, bottom, "The Cross" |
3 lines on Christian beliefs |
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SE 255, top and middle par. |
26 lines on Christian beliefs and practices |
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SE 255, bottom right, "A Cross of Palms" |
5 lines on Christian beliefs and practices |
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SE 258, top par., lines 4-9 |
6 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices |
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SE 258, right par., "Celebration" |
14 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices |
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SE 258, bottom right, "Crescent Moon" |
5 lines on Islamic beliefs |
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SE 259, par. 1-2 |
17 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices |
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SE 259, bottom left, "Prayer Rug" |
5 lines on Islamic beliefs |
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SE 264, chart, col. 2, "Christianity," lines 2 and 7-24 |
19 lines on Christian beliefs and practices |
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SE 264, chart, col. 4, "Islam," lines 2 and 6-21 |
17 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices |
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SE 347, center col., "William of Tyre" |
27 lines on Crusaders’ massacre of Muslims at Jerusalem in 1099, nothing on Muslim massacres of Christians there in 1244 and at Antioch in 1268 |
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Appendix I-B |
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In WORLD HISTORY: Connections to Today (Prentice, 1999), approved for Texas high schools from 1999 to 2003, Christian beliefs, practices, and holy writings received 82 student text lines of coverage, just over half of Islam’s 159. Three passages charged medieval Christianity with sexism; one said the Church "laid the foundations for anti-Semitism." It described Crusaders’ massacres of European Jews but not the Muslim Tamerlane’s massacre of perhaps 90,000 fellow Muslims at Baghdad in 1401 and of perhaps 100,000 Indian POWs at Delhi in 1398. |
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SE 144, col. 2, par. 5, line 4 – SE 145, col. 1, par. 5 SE 145, picture caption, lines 1-6 SE 145, col. 1, par. 6, lines 2-7 |
66 lines on Christian beliefs and teachings, including 7 lines from the Sermon on the Mount; reference to Jesus’ miracles, resurrection, and ascension; indirect reference to incarnation; eternal life to believers in Jesus. |
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SE 146, col. 1, par. 1, lines 6-17 |
12 lines on Christian beliefs, including a 6-line quote from St. Paul |
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SE 255, picture caption, lines 2-3 |
2 lines on Muslim beliefs |
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SE 256, col. 1, par. 1, lines 6-13 |
8-line quote from Mohammed |
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SE 256, col. 2, par. 2, lines 2-4 |
3 lines on Muslim beliefs |
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SE 256, col. 2, par. 4, line 4 – SE 257, col. 1, par. 1 |
22 lines on Muslim beliefs, including a 7-line quote from the Koran |
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SE 257, col. 1, par. 3, lines 2-4 |
3 lines on Muslim beliefs |
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SE 257, picture caption, lines 6-8 |
3 lines on Muslim practices |
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SE 257, col. 2, par. 1 – SE 258, col. 2, par. 2, line 10 |
76 lines on Muslim beliefs and practices |
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SE 258, col. 2, par. 4 – SE 260, col. 1, line 3 |
21 lines on Muslim beliefs and practices |
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SE 259, chart, row 5, "Christianity" |
4 lines on Christian beliefs |
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SE 259, chart, row 6, "Islam" |
6 lines on Muslim beliefs |
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SE 262, col. 2, par. 1, lines 4-7 |
4 lines on Muslim beliefs and practices |
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SE 268, col. 1, lines 1-11 |
11 lines on Muslim beliefs |
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SE 197, col. 1, par. 3 |
Medieval church entertained a dualistic stereotype of women as especially weak and sin prone, yet purer and higher in spirit. |
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SE 197, col. 1, par. 4, lines 3-6 |
Medieval church followed "a double standard" of justice, punishing women more severely. |
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SE 199, col. 1, par. 4 |
Late medieval church increasingly restricted women’s’ rise to prominence. |
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SE 200, col. 2, par. 1, lines 5-8 |
Medieval church "laid the foundations for anti-Semitism" by blaming Jews for Jesus’ death. |
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SE 222, col. 1, par. 2, lines 6-8 |
Crusaders massacred some European Jews. |
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SE 266, col. 1, par. 1 |
Brief discussion of the Muslim Tamerlane, no mention of his massacres at Delhi and Baghdad |
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Appendix I-C |
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WORLD HISTORY: The Human Odyssey (West, 1999), approved for Texas high schools from 1999 to 2003, devoted 176 student text lines to Islamic beliefs, practices, and holy writings but only 139 to Christian beliefs, practices, and holy writings. It said that Islam "brought untold wealth to thousands and a better life to millions," but that "because of [Europeans’ Christian] religious zeal ... many peoples died and many civilizations were destroyed" in the 1500s. It contrasted "the Muslim concern with cleanliness" with the Swedish Rus, who were "the filthiest of God’s creatures." |
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SE 181, col. 2, par. 3, line 5 – SE 182, bottom section, col. 2, line 7 |
19 lines on Christian beliefs, including 10 lines of quotes by Jesus in the Gospels |
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SE 182 – SE 183, "The Sermon on the Mount" |
67 lines on Christian beliefs and practices, including a 53-line quote from the Sermon on the Mount |
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SE 183, bottom section, col. 1, lines 1-3 |
3 lines on Christian beliefs, including a 2-line quote by Jesus |
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SE183, bottom section, col. 2, lines 5-9 |
5 lines on Christian beliefs |
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SE 184, col. 1, par. 1, lines 4-13 |
10 lines on Christian beliefs |
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SE 185, col. 1, par. 1, lines 6-7 and 9-13 |
7 lines on Christian beliefs and practices |
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SE 185, col. 2, lines 2-8 |
7 lines on Christian beliefs |
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SE 185, col. 2, line 13 – par. 1, line 5 |
12 lines on Christian beliefs and practices |
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SE 185, col. 2, par. 2 |
9 lines on Christian beliefs and practices, including a 3-line quote from Paul |
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SE 224, col. 1, line 28 – col. 2, line 2 |
12-line quote from the Koran |
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SE 226, col. 2, par. 1, line 5 – SE 227, col. 1, line 4 |
14 lines on Islamic beliefs |
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SE 227, col. 2, par. 2, lines 9-14 |
6 lines on Islamic beliefs |
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SE 228 – SE 230, col. 1 |
49 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices |
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SE 228, top, picture caption |
4 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices |
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SE 228, bottom, picture caption, lines 1-5 |
5 lines on Islamic practices |
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SE 229, top, picture caption, lines 1-2 |
2 lines on Islamic practices |
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SE 229, col. 1 |
23 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices |
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SE 230, col.2, par.1, lines 3-7 |
5 lines on Islamic beliefs |
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SE 239, col. 2, par. 1 |
9 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices |
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SE 244 |
47 lines on Islamic beliefs and practices, including a 40-line quote from the Koran |
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SE 249, col. 2, par. 2, lines 6-7 |
"... Islam also brought untold wealth to thousands and a better life to millions." |
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SE 366 – SE 367, col. 1 |
Swedish Rus were "the filthiest of God’s creatures," versus "the Muslim concern with cleanliness." |
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SE 495, "SECTION REVIEW," no. 5, lines 3-5 |
"Because of [Europeans’ Christian] religious zeal ... many native peoples died and many civilizations were destroyed" in the 1500s. |
Appendix II
Gilbert Sewall's Islam in the Classroom: What the Textbooks Tell Us (American Textbook Council, 2008)
identifies these problems in ten 2005-07 copyright middle and high school Social Studies textbooks. William Bennetta finds some of the same defects in the high school textbook World Cultures: A Global Mosaic (Prentice, 2001). Mr. Sewall chairs the American Textbook Council in New York City. Mr. Bennetta, a Californian, is president of The Textbook League and edits The Textbook Letter.
Q's & A's on the Rives Resolution
Q: Protesters from Florida to California have objected without ultimate success to chronic pro-Muslim/anti-Christian Social Studies textbook bias. Why will the Rives Resolution be any more effective?
A: Because unlike them, the
Rives Resolution coordinates with a big state's textbook adoption cycle
whose market clout seriously impacts publishers' sales. Also unlike Texas,
California has never state-approved high school textbooks, plus it has now
suspended all textbook approvals until 2016 and says it may not resume them
for "close to a generation," making Texas the de facto national principal
voice of public school textbook
purchasers.
Q: Why is this Resolution not out of order? It reopens Social Studies course standards (the TEKS) just after the Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) settled new Social Studies TEKS in May 2010.
A: The Rives Resolution differs from TEKS revisions. The TEKS are specific and tell what courses must include. This Resolution is general and tells what courses must avoid. The passage of the Rives Resolution immediately after approving the TEKS is logical and proper. It prohibits any pro-Muslim/anti-Christian bias without vainly trying to enumerate all its possible forms, sidestepping dangers in the technical legal principle Exclusio unius inclusio alterius ("Exclusion of one is inclusion of the other"), i.e., whatever is not explicitly forbidden is implicitly permitted.
Q: Why pass this Resolution now, when SBOE membership will differ when it votes on new Social Studies books?
A: All SBOE members swear to uphold Texas law. The same Texas Education Code (TEC) that binds them today will probably still apply then. Approving the Rives Resolution now gives editors early warning of the SBOE's duty on this issue.
Q: How can the SBOE reject textbooks for undemocratic content? Texas Education Code (TEC) section 31.023(a) and (b) mentions only failure to cover at least half of course standards (the TEKS), failure to meet "applicable physical specifications," and failure to correct factual errors, as lawful grounds for rejection.
A: Texas Education Code (TEC) section 31.023(a) and (b) does not exhaustively enumerate all the reasons why the SBOE must reject a textbook. It is a mistake to misinterpret this partial list of reasons for rejection as the definitive complete list, in isolation from the rest of the TEC. In fact the TEC elsewhere includes one other lawful cause for SBOE rejection of a textbook, namely, violation of TEC section 28.002(h) and (i), which states in pertinent part:
(h)
... A primary purpose of the
public school curriculum is to
prepare thoughtful, active citizens ... with appreciation for
the
basic democratic values of our state and national heritage.
(i)
The State
Board of Education shall adopt rules for the
implementation of this subchapter.
...
This passage specifies a fourth reason for SBOE rejection of textbooks. It requires the SBOE to promote "basic democratic values," and thus to reject textbooks which blatantly violate that mandate. The Rives Resolution documents multiple indisputable patterns of undemocratic, discriminatory, prejudicial pro-Muslim/anti-Christian defiant mockery of that rule in Texas World History books' treatment of the world's great religions. The Rives Resolution warns publishers that in the future the SBOE will enforce the whole TEC, not just section 31.023(a) and (b).
Q: Why does the Rives Resolution cite no pro-Muslim/anti-Christian bias in current Texas Social Studies books?
A: Because it obeys SBOE Operating Rule §2.9(c)(2), which says:
Board action relative to textbook resolutions must take place within 90 days of adoption of the specific textbooks ….
Thus the Rives Resolution cannot address Social Studies books under current Texas adoption for over 90 days (in this case since 2003). Instead, the Resolution’s first "Whereas" refers to 1999 editions of Social Studies books previously under Texas adoption (though most of the same books' 2003 editions are now under current Texas adoption), and the Resolution’s second "Whereas" confirms that pro-Muslim/anti-Christian bias still vexes current Social Studies books generally nationwide, establishing probable cause in Texas.
Q: Apart from this Resolution, does pro-Muslim/anti-Christian bias taint current Texas Social Studies books?
A: Yes. Like its previously-adopted 1999 Texas edition, the currently-adopted 2003 Texas edition of McDougal Littell's World History: Patterns of Interaction devotes 27 student text lines on page 347 to Crusaders' massacre of Muslims at Jerusalem in 1099, and 10 student text lines on page 345 to Crusaders' massacre of 3,000 Muslims at Acre in 1191, but censors Muslim massacres of Christians at Jerusalem in 1244 and at Antioch in 1268.
Also, the currently-adopted 2003 Texas edition of Prentice Hall's World History: Connections to Today refers on page 217 (par. 2, lines 3-4) to Crusaders' massacre of some European Jews but nowhere mentions the Muslim Tamerlane's massacre of perhaps 90,000 fellow Muslims at Baghdad in 1401, and of perhaps 100,000 Indian POWs at Delhi in 1398.
To verify these persistent pro-Muslim/anti-Christian biases, anyone can check the 2003 editions of these texts on file at the Texas Education Agency in Austin, Texas.
Donna Garner