The Agenda for this week's meeting of the Texas State Board of Education includes a resolution on "Balanced Treatment of Religious Groups in Textbooks." According to the Dallas Morning News last week, the resolution warns textbook publishers not to include "pro-Islamic, anti-Christian distortions, in social study texts." The resolution cites world history texts no longer used in Texas schools, that devoted far more space to Muslim beliefs and practices than Christian ones, and other books that focused on Christian Crusaders' killing of Muslims in 1099, but not Muslim killings of Christians in the 13th century.
A spokesperson for the Texas Freedom Network says the resolution's charges are superficial and misleading. Sponsors of the resolution warn that "Middle Easterners" are investing in U.S. textbook companies. The Texas Freedom Network (TFN) has completed an analysis that proves the resolution’s claims are highly misleading and plainly inaccurate. According to TFN, the resolution doesn’t take into consideration entire textbook sections that deal with Christianity, including those on the Reformation, Christian influences during the Renaissance and canon law and church reform.
The resolution also grossly exaggerates when it claims these textbooks have ignored
atrocities committed by Islamic leaders. For example, one textbook explicitly discusses the massacre of 100,000 Hindu prisoners by a Muslim leader after a 14th-century battle. Islamic societies’ treatment of women and slaves throughout history is also mentioned.
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
No comments:
Post a Comment