Ryan Mauro
A highly disturbing phenomenon is rising in our public school system today with hardly a peep of protest from parents and from our society at large: students are being force-fed a curious and bizarre narrative that presents Islam in a glowing — and historically mangled — light, while Western civilization and the Judeo-Christian tradition are demonized and smeared. The latest example can be found in New York’s statewide high school Regents exam where students will find points deducted from their grade if they don’t obediently regurgitate the Party-Line given to them. Some of the test’s questions are based on specific readings from A World History: A Cultural Approach by Daniel Roselle, including this troublesome lesson: “Wherever they went, the Moslems brought with them their love of art, beauty and learning. From about the eighth to the eleventh century, their culture was superior in many ways to that of western [sic] Christendom.” Elsewhere, students learn from Roselle how, under Christian rule, “idols, temples and other material evidences of paganism [were] destroyed.” The text also marvels at how, after being conquered by Muslims, the Spanish city of Cordoba’s “streets were solidly paved,” unlike in Paris, and lamps were set up. At the same time, the author makes pains to point out, “there was not a single public lamp in London!”
The lesson for impressionable children taking this exam is clear: Islam is historically tolerant, progressive, and admirable, whereas modern extremism has more in common with Christianity. Islamic scholar Andrew Bostom described the teaching as a “grotesque distortion of historical reality,” leaving students ignorant of how “the jihad ravages…wreaked havoc—massacre, pillage, enslavement, and deportation—upon culturally more advanced civilizations.”
The exam also includes a reading from John Esposito, a Muslim Brotherhood apologist who appeared as a witness for the defense in the trial of the Holy Land Foundation (HLF) in 2008. The HLF was shut down for being a Brotherhood-constructed front to finance Hamas. He’s even promoted the extremist Brotherhood theologian, Sheikh Yousef al-Qaradawi. He also co-authored a book with Azzam Tamimi, who has said, “Do not call them suicide bombers, call them shuhada [martyrs]…[The Israelis] have guns, we have the human bomb. We love death, they love life.”
The particular question based on Esposito’s writing asked students about Islam’s expansion into Africa. A “correct” answer did not involve anything about forced conversion or aggression. In fact, this historical fact is considered incorrect by the exam’s standards. Answers such as: “merchants were agents of Islamization; [Islam was spread] by religious leaders forcing their views on isolated societies; [and] there was conflict between traditional priests and Muslim men of religion” are all unacceptable.
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