I know you’re operating under the assumption that religion should be verboten at our pubic schools, so this is in keeping with what your thoughts are (in general).
What you don’t seem to realize is that in at least some of our schools, Islam is being taught. Especially after 09/11, Korans were brought in, role playing took place including mach jihads, and kids were dressed up in middle-eastern garb.
Don’t get the idea that religion is being dismissed from our schools. Some religions are.
Imagine someone reading passages from the Bible in public school, and the class discussing it.
http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=25997
I took comparative religions in my NYC public high shool.
And yes we had Bibles (I even brought in the libretto from the the Broadway show Jesus Christ Superstar (ok it was the early 70s!). We had Korans (but no muslim students that I was aware of), and discussions about the Talmud, and variations of the bible, schisms in Christianity and things I don’t remember from eastern religious as well as LDS because I remember we did have a Morman student. We read passages from these religious texts and discussed them.
I never said that instruction about world religions had no place in a well-rounded PUBLIC school education. But it should be done when the students are old enough to have some grasp of thier own religion, if they are being raised in any particular faith, and it cannot ever have the appearance of proselytizing.
Being that we are at war with fanatical religious extremist (and my 18 year old son shipped out two days ago) some insight into these fanatics is not a bad idea. And we should realize that not all Muslims are trying kill/eliminate or convert us. At least the other two members of my bowling team, the 18 & 19 year old Yugoslavian Muslim cousins weren’t.