For years, Christian prayer has been banned in public schools. Now, Muslims are demanding prayer time and getting it.
Public Schools And Prayer
In 2000, Congress passed the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act. This act demanded many religious accommodations to be made on public property. In 1993, a federal court mandated a San Diego district to allow students to have religious activities during lunchtime.
In spite of this, we hear of teachers being fired for silently reading a personal Bible during a study hall. Students are not allowed to have student-led Christian prayer at graduations. Students from parochial schools are denied open gym time at the local public school in their district.
New Accommodations
There are pockets throughout the country that have concentrations of Muslim students.
These schools are giving the Islamic students breaks to pray during the school day. In fact, the complaint has been made that an extra recess was created in the San Diego district just for prayer.
How Much Prayer?
According to Akram Shami, from the Islamic Center of Southern California in Los Angeles, "We pray to God, we worship God, and we recite verses from the Koran. Prayer is typical at noon or 1 p.m. but there are five daily prayers." [Randy Dotinga, The Christian Science Monitor, scmonitor.com, July 12, 2007] Shami goes on to say that in some public schools, students leave classes momentarily or even wait to pray when they get home.
At Carver Elementary School in San Diego students are praying 15 minutes during an afternoon recess and an hour after lunch. Extra breaks were put into the school day this year to accommodate 100 Muslim students that transferred from a closed Arabic languge program.
No Child Left Behind
Because of the No Child Left Behind mandate, many schools are eliminating recesses to allow more time for reading and math. Even science is being pushed to the back burner to allow more time for teaching. Lengthening the schools day is being considered and all-year school is becoming popular to aid in student information retention. With all this being demanded in other schools, it is surprising that some public schools are adding a recess for religious prayer.
Christian Demands
Brad Dacus, president of the Pacific Justice Institute is asking the school district to provide rooms for Christians to pray, as well. "The school policy presumes that Christians are less religious and less inspired to worship and praise the Lord and come together," says Dacus." [Randy Dotinga, The Christian Science Monitor, scmonitor.com, July 12, 2007]
Court Involvement
Lisa Soronen, attorney with the National School Boards Association, says, "Most Americans don’t think about the fact that schools naturally accommodate Christians. There’s no school on Sunday, and we get days off for most of the major Christian holidays." Soronen added that the courts have not ruled on this issue so there is no precedent. Since the American Civil Liberties Union has remained silent on Muslim prayer, it may be up to Christian groups to take this matter to the courts. Meanwhile, schools are unclear how to handle the issue.
Copyright article 2007 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
The copyright of the article Muslim Prayer in Public Schools in Educational Issues is owned by Barbara Pytel. Permission to republish Muslim Prayer in Public Schools in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
It seems as if the Muslims can delay their noon or one o' clock prayers
until after school without being disrespectful of their practices. Then
why not have them wait? If they must have a noon or one o' clock prayer,
they should do it over the lunch time. Any special accomodations requiring
extra cost to the district or business should be borne by the Muslims, such
as foot-washing facilities, etc. To ask any school district or
employer to bear extra cost is discriminatory in favor of Muslims. It
seems as if we are living in a time period of ultra-political
correctness,... (oh please don't dare offend any special interest group, or
minority) Yes, it is true that the dominant culture in the US is
non-Muslim.... immigrants: DEAL WITH IT ! You aren't in the Middle
East,.. by your own choice now. Do not expect our society to make large
changes to accomodate you. Either fit in, adapt to your new home or leave.
Sep 21, 2008 10:14 PM
Guest :
Our country (USA) which our soldiers lay down thier lives for every day and
are given grief on having places to pray, was based on Christianity. Our
fore fathers were Christians, our laws and Constitution was based on the
bible. We have had our rights stripped away as Christians and still
everyday have to fight for them. Yes as Christians we do pray all day!!!!
We pray for our children, our leaders, our troops!!!! It takes an ignorant
non Christian to say we dont deserve prayer time. Go to Church, a real
family oriented church and you will find out you dont know what you are
talking about. Thats why children and society are so corrupt today, they
took prayer out of the schools and shut off all outlets for Christians to
try to reach troubled children and adults. Todays society is the product of
shutting off the Christians. Dont let them speak. Now, we are trying to
make accomidations for another religion!! Slap us Americans again, were use
to it!!!!!
Oct 3, 2008 4:45 PM
Guest :
Christians already have special treatment in school systems and have since
the beginning. Times are changing and with that change comes compromises.
To let muslims pray during recess or step out during class should not be a
big deal especially since they are going to pray and not to cause trouble.
Every school that needs it should provide prayer rooms for all religions
(even temporarily empty classrooms could be used). To get angry or
disstressed over this is ridiculous. there are many different people who
follow different religions...DEAL WITH IT or keep your opinions to yourself
because who really cares about what you say about someone else's religious
practices.
Oct 3, 2008 8:36 PM
Barbara Pytel :
I think the rub is that Christians are not allowed to do the same.
Teachers are fired for reading a Bible during free reading time, students
are not allowed to have a graduation prayer, and prayer is not allowed at
any time in classrooms. So, when the Muslims get their prayer time and a
room when the Christians are denied, this is an issue.
Oct 12, 2008 1:51 PM
Guest :
You guys are making it a big deal. As if most Christians pray daily! Most
of them pray on one day - Sunday. It isn't even seen because of religion
anymore, its more of a tradition. IF you guys WANTED time to pray at your
school/work, you would've ASKED for it. The Muslims are asking, so they got
it. If Christians/Jews really cared about praying as much as Muslims do,
they would've understood it completely and not made a huge deal about it.
So what? They take 15 mins from the school day to pray, and suddenly
AMERICA is being taken over by the MUSLIMS? No, I don't think so. The
reason for all the hate is because that is what you guys are all used to.
You hear the words "Muslim" or "Islam", and the first
thing that pops into your head is "TERRORIST!!!". And as
for the rest of you who are saying "This isn't the middle east, get
over it!"; what ever happened to religious freedom? I thought that was
a reason many people came years ago -- because they were seeking religious
freedom. Lately it seems as if America is a Christian country. Just because
the dominant culture in America isn't Islam does not mean that all Muslims
have to become Christians or Jews.
Oct 13, 2008 8:32 AM
Guest :
You don't get it. Christians "have" asked and were told no.
That is why this is such a big deal.
Oct 15, 2008 5:08 PM
Guest :
The statement that "for years, Christian prayer has been banned in
public schools" is a myth. In fact, laws in the United States do not
prohibit student-led prayer in public schools, regardless of the students'
religion. The law does prohibits teachers or other staff from leading
students in prayer for the obvious reasons that these people are in a
position of authority over students. Perpetuating myths does not help
ensure that anyone's rights are upheld; it can only mire us in more
intolerance and ignorance regardless of our religion. The reason Christian
groups have not taken the issue to court is that there is no issue:
Christian prayer is fine so long as there is no "captive"
audience, which would certainly be the case at a graduation ceremony.
Oct 15, 2008 5:21 PM
Guest :
In response to the issue of foot-washing facilities, these were installed
in Michigan because Christian students were complaining about the Muslims
washing their feet in the sinks.
On another note, our country
was not founded as a Christian country. Take a look at the Constitution
and you will see that freedom of religion was intended and ensured by our
founding fathers, many of whom belonged to what were, at the time, fringe
religious groups by European standards.
The guest who writes
about our troops being slapped in the face is overlooking the fact that
many of them are fighting to defend our freedom, including freedom of
religion, and that many of these are non-Christians or Christians who are
tolerant of other religions. And yes, I know what I am talking about.
Mine is a proud military family, and we look to the Constitution to define
our sense of what is American. "American" is not defined by
religion but by freedom. It's not a free country when we start demanding
that everyone in it become just like us.
Oct 23, 2008 6:41 AM
Guest :
u guyz are retarded we r guna stand up for our religion and our right so u
guys can get over it!!
Oct 23, 2008 7:58 AM
Guest :
The reader is very wrong about prayer in public schools. Our local school
will not permit any convocation or anything resembling prayer even by a
minister at our high school graduations. Kids have asked to have a room
before the school day began or after school was out to have a student led
Bible study and were denied. Our Christian Athletes club was denied space
to meet. I you live in a liberal part of the country like I do, the courts
won't interpret the law in our favor. So, the person that said Christians
are denied is correct, at least where we live.
Nov 13, 2008 7:44 AM
Guest :
i think muslims should be allowed to pray in schools. if christians had a
prayer time that was scheduled during school hours i would say they should
be allowed to pray during that time too. but the fact is Christians dont
and Muslims do. So let them pray. And to the person who left the comment
about not being in the Middle East. Not to call you ignorant but um not all
Muslims come from the middle east and not all of them are immigrants.
Nov 17, 2008 9:09 PM
Guest :
Wow. You know why christians haven't asked for a special room to pray? It's
because our religion doesn't demand us to go pray at certain times. This
does not mean that we only pray on Sunday or that we never pray, it just
means that when they said "no prayer in schools" some people took
it a little to seriously. yes, student led prayer is not
"illegal", but nowadays everyone is so scared of getting in
trouble for not "seperating church from state" (that's not even
in the constitution by the way) that if anyone does pray(out loud, in group
settings) they get harped on. And now muslims come in and get a room and a
time out of class for it? If I was having a hard day and I stepped out of
class for 10 minutes of prayer (and if I said that that was my reason for
leaving the class or I just left) in a public school I would either A) get
yelled at for leaving w/o asking B) get told no for asking to leave for
this reason C) get credit taken away or D)get marked a "tardy"
even though I wasn't tardy. Seems a bit hypocritical if you ask me.
Dec 2, 2008 7:55 PM
Guest :
Our countries forefathers believed that all people are created equal and
that religion should not be forced upon any citizen by the government.
Somehow this has translated into removing opportunities for school children
to feel free to pray to or speak about the God our ancestors credit with
bringing us to this land. Now, our educational system feels compelled,
in the interest of tolerance, or just to prove they are not predjudice, to
compromise to accommodate other religions - to support their freedom to
pray inside the very walls we were told we could not. By the way, the
New Testament says to pray without ceasing. So, eliminating prayer from
part of my childrens' day is also against the word of my God. It may
surprise you to know that true christians pray all day long even when you
aren't aware of it. We don't need a specific time or place...And many
times we are praying for you. The issue is that these modifications
that allow for muslim prayer in schools comes just after they robbed
christians of that right (which they held for hundreds of years). Let's
keep this in perspective and keep it fair. We can love all people and
cultures without robbing them of their freedom to worship. But we cannot
allow one religion that right while refusing others. Just a
thought...If we moved to a muslim country would we expect children living
there to quit praying to Allah in school? Tricia
Dec 4, 2008 10:01 PM
Guest :
Please be aware that Born again believers pray everyday, not just on
sundays. In Chapter 6 of the Book of Daniel he kneeled down and prayed
three times a day. As a christian, I pray daily.
Feb 13, 2009 3:44 PM
Cherice Jones :
First of all I respect that some Christians do pray on a daily bases but
from the Christians I know, they are not required to pray at certain times
during the day. On the other hand Muslims do pray five times a day and are
required to pray during certain time periods throughout the day. Now if a
student asks to leave the classroom for 10 minutes to pray then so what? As
long as the student is not disrupting any other students they are allowed
to pray individually. Christians have not been denied their right to pray.
At my high school students do pray at the flag pole in the morning without
trouble. I also wanted to state that not all Muslims are immigrants or from
the Middle East. This is a common stereotype. I am a Muslim; I was born in
America and have lived here all my life. I'm African and Hispanic and my
parents were originally Christians so when people say that all Muslims are
from the middle east that's when I know they don't have their facts
straight. Banning school prayer and religious freedom is against what this
country stands for and I take it as offensive when people try to take away
that right from students. Being an AMERICAN Muslim, I pray during school
hours with the permission of both teachers and counselors. And it's
actually very simple; I just use a classroom or room that is not being used
without disturbing anyone. They have been kind enough to understand my
beliefs and for anyone who would like to take that away needs to think
twice.
Apr 13, 2009 3:33 PM
Guest :
I am a Muslim and I wait till I get home from school, do my
"noon" prayer then, and then I do my afternoon prayer around
four. I am the only Muslim in my school and I am too shy to ask for
permission to pray during school. Christians are already the best treated
in public schools. In my school we have a cultures unit. When it comes to
Islam we do the lesson in a day, but spend 3 weeks on christianity.
Apr 26, 2009 7:16 PM
Guest :
We were a Christian nation - now that we are not (per Bama's speach) NO
other religion sould get preferential treatment. By the way, the so called
Christian holiday's that the schools get off are official government
holidays - they did not stem from Chritianity as they are pagan through and
through from their beginning and are from Constantine in Rome leaving the
Biblical holidays to seperate from the Jews and adding Christian themes to
his pagan worship days and names (get educated, Attorney Lisa Soronen!)When
we least expect it we will be surprised when we see what the muslims really
want out of this infidel country!
May 1, 2009 5:29 PM
Guest :
I am a mother of two boys, who has had to pay for private catholic school
because I wanted them to have a good religious foundation. For those of
you who said that Christians pray only once a week, you are obviously not a
Christian. I for one do not want my tax dollars to pay for "a special
place for Muslims to pray". It's bad enough that I have to pay for my
kids, and for those who go to public school on top of that. If Muslims
want a special place for their kids to pray, PAY FOR IT LIKE I DO. I am
sick and tired of making concessions for every "minority", and
having to pay money for it. Ridiculous. People that come to this country
have to adapt to our way of life, not the other way around. Think of it
this way, if you let someone come and live in your home (America is MY
home), should you have to change your way of living to accommodate them,
but they can do whatever they please. I think it's just plain old common
sense. If I moved to Germany, I would have to learn German. I would not
expect them to learn English for me. The way our country has treated all
of these poor, tired, filthy, and hungry, has left them spoiled to boost.
Bleeding hearts trying to give whining crybabies everything they want only
spoils them, and they want more and more and more. I for one say enough.
They are lucky just to live here, without their give us more attitudes.
The fact that they will not adapt to this country only shows that they have
no respect for it. So to reiterate as the first guest on this site said,
"adapt to your new home or leave". Thanks for reading this.
May 5, 2009 8:23 AM
Guest :
You are not the only one that pays taxes!!!! I am a Muslim! I work two
jobs! that means my tax money goes towards the schools too! If your kid
gets to pray why shouldn't I? I moved to this country to have more freedom,
to have a better life. And i am very thankful I have that.But why should I
lose my beliefs and cultuer just because an ignorant lady that is as rude
as you are doesn't think enough. You are acting like this is all about you
and your kids. Well its not. There are plenty of other people in this world
besides just you. There are Americans in my country, but we do not tell
them to stop praying or practicing their religion just because they are not
in America. Your comment truly upsets me! You are so selfish! And i have
adapted to where i live, and I love it, but that does not mean I am gonna
stop being a Muslim! And if I pay for your kids to pray in their school
then one day when I have kids they should be allowed the same!!! Thank YOU
for reading this comment!!!
May 16, 2009 6:32 AM
Guest :
i personally think christianity has a more influence on schools. as said in
the article, there are no schools on sundays, and there are CHRISTMAS
holidays as well as easter. during the december months, some teachers would
talk about christmas, what it is, and there would be decorated trees in the
hallways. that is something only christans do, not muslims nor anyone else.
there is also assemblies on christmas, and there are events on easter. all
christian. there are holidays on eid, are there? hardly anyone knows the
celebrations of muslims. christianty is sometimes a topic in class, whereas
no one knows a thing on islam. i'm fine with the fact that there is a lot
of "christian" things going on in the school, but there should be
other religons fitted as well. i don't think there should be an entire
recess for prayer, but during lunch, or the regular recess, kids can go to
a seperate prayer room if they want. there are somethings in the article
that i agree with, such as, it is not right for a teacher to be fired
reading a bible. however, i do not think muslims are "ruling" or
ruining the way schools run with thier customs.
Aug 19, 2007
