Outraged parents in a Houston suburb are awaiting response from their public school board regarding a principal's decision to hold a mandatory Islamic-instruction session for students led by representatives of the controversial Council on American-Islamic Relations.

"Every parent and community member who has communicated with us has been deeply concerned about this action and has expressed that changes must be made," said a statement from Pastor Dave Welch, a spokesman for the Houston Area Pastor Council, an inter-denominational organization closely monitoring the situation.

Friendswood Junior High

Welch said it appears the district will take action against Friendswood Junior High, where students were required to attend a May 22 session led by two women wearing veils and representing CAIR's Houston chapter.

"Houston Area Pastor Council and several of our key pastors in the Friendswood community have communicated with parents, school board members as well as Supt. Trish Hanks and are confident that school officials are very committed to taking appropriate disciplinary action for the violation of school policies, state law and the trust of parents and students," the statement said. "Friendswood has deep roots in the Christian faith and is still a close knit community of people who have strong beliefs in the core Judeo-Christian values that built the city, state and nation.

"We are committed to staying closely involved, waiting for the school district's announcement this week and working with the district, the parents and the pastors to define and protect appropriate religious expression and activities for the future," Welch said.

As WND reported shortly after the assembly, parents said Principal Robin Lowe apparently arranged for the Islamic instruction despite his superintendent's order not to do it.

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The controversy developed when students at Friendswood were taken to an assembly that suddenly replaced a scheduled physical education class.

In the session, two CAIR representatives instructed students that Adam, Noah and Jesus are prophets, announced "there is one god, his name is Allah," taught the five pillars of Islam, told students how to pray five times a day and gave instruction on Islamic religious rules for dress.

Welch's organization called the event unacceptable.

"The failure of the principal of Friendswood Junior High to respect simple procedures requiring parental notification for such a potentially controversial subject, to not only approve but participate personally in a religious indoctrination session led by representatives of a group with well-known links to terrorist organizations and her cavalier response when confronted, raises serious questions about her fitness to serve in that role," the pastors' organization said in a statement.

A parent, whose name was withheld, reported the presentation was 30 to 40 minutes long and handled by Muslims from CAIR, which, as WND has reported, is a spinoff of the defunct Islamic Association for Palestine, launched by Hamas leader Mousa Abu Marzook and former university professor Sami al-Arian, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to provide services to Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

A number of CAIR employees have been convicted of terrorism-related activities. Among them are communications specialist Randall Todd "Ismail" Royer, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison on charges he trained in Virginia for holy war against the U.S. and sent several members to Pakistan to join a Kashmiri terrorist group with reported ties to al-Qaida; and Bassem Khafagi, who was arrested in January 2003 while serving as CAIR's director of community relations and convicted on fraud and terrorism charges in connection with a probe of the Islamic Assembly of North America, an organization suspected of aiding Saudi sheiks tied to Osama bin Laden. In October 2006, Ghassan Elashi, a member of the founding board of directors of the Texas branch of CAIR, was sentenced to nearly seven years in prison for financial ties to a high-ranking terrorist.

Welch told WND parents have told him school officials confirmed to them that the principal had been instructed not to involve students in any such program.

A mother who had alerted other parents told WND, "The superintendent told this principal that the children could not be part of this assembly. It happened anyway."

School officials did not return WND calls seeking comment.

WND previously reported how public school textbooks used across the nation have begun promoting Islam, teaching even the religious doctrines.

WND also has reported several other schools have taught Islam as a required subject.

In the Texas case, a school e-mail to parents provided only a half-hearted acknowledgement that mandatory religious indoctrination might not have been the best decision.

"In hindsight, a note should have been sent home to parents indicating the purpose and content of the presentation in time for parents to contact me with questions or concerns or requests to exempt their child," the note from Lowe said. "This will be our practice in the future, should we ever have another presentation of a similar nature."

 

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