Will classes be interrupted for the call to prayer?
Via Toronto Sun:
While public school students all across Canada typically learn about the world’s major religions at some point during their studies, one school board’s guidebook on Islam is edging close to religious instruction and indoctrination.
The Toronto District School Board designates a number of heritage months throughout the year and October is Islamic Heritage Month. A 170-page guidebook prepared for teachers recommends a variety of religious intrusions into the public school system.
A list of announcements it suggests be read before or after the playing of O Canada include the Muslim greeting “As-salamu alaykum” (peace be upon you) and an invitation to visit a local mosque.
Children are encouraged to use paper cut-outs to construct replicas of famous mosques around the world.
One assignment for students includes writing an article about one of 12 Muslim Canadians, four of whom are Liberal politicians currently in office, including Ontario Attorney General Yasir Naqvi.
These would all be done within the classroom and during school time. They’re also not to be restricted just to October because, as the guidebook notes, “the goal is to embed this learning within every classroom, across the curriculum, and throughout the school year.”
The guide doesn’t keep its focus solely on historical and scriptural matters, either. It delves into a variety of contemporary social issues, but in a way that glosses over widely known controversies surrounding the faith.
It says that, while women sit at the back or a different section of the mosque during prayers, “Islam never considered where women and men perform their prayer in terms of gender superiority/inferiority, and as such, it should not be perceived in this way.” There is no mention of the second-class treatment Muslim women suffer in the name of the faith in countries, such as Saudi Arabia.
HT: BCF