removed a hand-lettered sign identifying
a room as the "Muslim Student Prayer Room"
after a school employee contacted the Tribune questioning the
constitutionality of setting up what looked like a mosque.
Posted on 10/25/2001 12:41:04 PM PDT by rface
According to the employee, who asked not to be named, inside the room there was also a sign asking visitors to "remove shoes when entering the mosque."
"The sign is not a good idea," Principal Bruce Brotzman said Tuesday. "It sounds like we set up a mosque in our school or" if it were "for Christians, a sanctuary. We are not going to do that. But to make space available to accommodate kids, that is something ... we want to do."
Practicing Muslims pray five times a day during specified windows of time. At least one of those times falls during the school day. Brotzman said that each year, students look for space for the daytime prayer. This year he offered them a small basement room after an elementary school’s gifted-education program moved out. The room has no window and is not identified with a room number.
"The most important thing is to find a place that is clean and quiet," said senior Rehab El-Buri. Last year students used the Performing Arts Center but would periodically find it occupied by a class or locked. She estimated about 30 students use the room from time to time, though on days when they have cars they might drive to the mosque downtown instead.
Rehab said Muslim students weren’t upset to see the signs go down. They were posted by a student whose family immigrated here two months ago and who is suffering from culture shock, she said.
"I know they didn’t open this room just for Muslim students. We may have the greatest need, but this is by no means a mosque," Rehab said. "I think the room should be open to Christians or Buddhists who want to pray."
Steve Benen, spokesman for the Washington-based group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, said the question of how far schools must go to accommodate daytime prayer by students has not been settled legally.
"The policy most schools take is one of accommodation, which seems to work for everyone involved," he said. "The caveat is that it must not be disruptive. … Rooms being set aside for exclusively religious use, that would be legally problematic."
Earlier this year, Americans United wrote letters of opposition to a Kentucky high school that allowed an outside person to renovate a classroom into a chapel, complete with pews carved with crosses, a pulpit and a copy of the Lord’s Prayer posted. The school set up the room for students who wanted to come voluntarily.
After communication with Americans United, the Kentucky school converted its chapel into a different school use.
Brotzman said Assistant Principal Kathy Ritter has explained to Muslim students that the room is not exclusively "theirs."
Brotzman said Christian students haven’t asked to use a school room during the day, though requests to use space before and after school aren’t uncommon. A flier posted on school bulletin boards advertised a meeting yesterday of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in the school commons. The meeting was to include songs and worship.
Rehab said her years at Rock Bridge have been the best of her life in terms of helping her feel comfortable expressing who she is. In middle school, she was "too much of a conformist" to break away to pray during the day. In junior high she gained confidence, but administrators didn’t help students find a room to use.
"When new Muslim families come to Columbia, I always recommend their kids go to Rock Bridge because they have been so overwhelmingly cooperative with us and so understanding," she said.
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Now tell me you are not aware of anti-Christian trends in school.
The argument for this anti-Christian movement is the "separation of church and state". I guess that only applies to Christians.
So you are saying Muslims can pray in schools, but non-denominational Christians can't pray because they are like rapists, pot smokers, and goat-butchers.
Very interesting choice of words.
Very nice summary of the situation.
And an additional thought, since your illustration of the situation is not quite accurate.
Imagine the Muslim kids had been told for years that they can barely mention their belief in Mohammed during school hours and are DEFINITELY told they cannot pray during school hours. Then imagine the principal gives a prayer room to Jewish kids.
My little brother and sister graduated from this place. My lil' bro had a bit of a problem trying to get the same cooperation from the principal in allowing them to set up a Christian bible study. What a surprise.
Absolutely.
Perhaps in the spirit of ecumenicalism, they might finally realize they are really all speaking to the same Person who is the Father of us all.
So I guess their school schedules should include some released time from classes. Our HS kids can leave the campus at lunch time. Maybe the Muslim students should be allowed to leave at prayer time.
It seems you are arguing against yourself here. First you say religious mandates (of the Muslims) can be followed by public school actions promoting those religious mandates. Then you say religious mandates can't have bearing on public school actions if the courts say they can't.
My answer to your question is: I think the court might say to religious cocaine sniffers, "Sorry, that's against the rules in this country."
Come to think of it... It SEEMS like the Court HAS ALREADY said "Sorry we don't pray in schools in this country. That's against the rules here."
[Madalyn Murry] O'Hair ... was involved in successful court battles in the 1960s to ban prayer and Bible-reading in the nation's public schools."
I wonder what O'Hair would think of Muslims praying in schools, if she weren't murdered.
Lucky for the Muslims that O'Hair isn't around to bring court cases against them.
Now, now. That would be wasteful. Just sell them off to the highest bidder. But I like the idea of keeping a handful around as a reminder of the Schoolag Archipelago.
The argument set forth by the ACLU and other anti-prayer groups revolves about the real or perceived participation and/or sponsorship by schools in a religious activity, where students may be "forced" or "exposed" to organized prayer. There are still Christian student organizations in the school system, they have clubs and meet on a regular basis on school grounds, there are also Christuan students who take time during the school day to pray.
The ACLU has no influence over these kids, any interference they may experience comes from overzealous, anti-Christian unit-level administrators, or even the local school board.
Having said all that, the "separation" of church and State is currently interpreted as being related to anything which could be interpreted as the school, or school system, organizing an event, or activity, with religious overtones.
I don't know if you have seen the reports in the last few weeks about "God Bless America" and the Pledge of Allegiance coming under fire at schools, in every single instance, the act of censorship generated from either a school principal, or a local school board. Neither the US government, nor the ACLU have, to the best of my knowledge, ever attempted to remove either one of those from the campuses.
Lastly, I recall news accounts from last year, where people had spontaneously (or not so spontaneously) stood and prayed at school sporting events, they were neither stopped, or prosecuted for their actions. why no prosecution? I believe that it was because PEOPLE did this, not the school.
Lesson to be learned: we do not require the government's stamp of approval to pray in school, just do it, it's the way Christians have always faced opposition, with strong determination and the belief that the only thing that we need is God on our side.
Probably a good start would be letting Christians interpret their own Scriptures.
isthisnickcool: Good Idea, Look Here
Thanks very much for the link. Looks like Noontime Mecca is very early in the morning here. Maybe the kids can get out of bed and pray at the same actual time as Mohammed would have in the Middle East. I wonder if some strict interpretation of the Koran might demand that? Or do the kids already pray in the early early morning? I have to admit I have a lot to learn about Islam.
It is the 'we love minority and feel their pain' syndrome. PAH!
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