School trip to mosque includes prayer

Video shows boys from Wellesley bowing
By Cara Hogan Special to the Advocate

Wellesley students at prayer services at Roxbury mosque. Sixth graders from Wellesley Middle School took a trip to the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center in Roxbury in May to learn about Islam as part of their Social Studies curriculumThe students heard a presentation on the history and culture of Islam and then the girls were separated from the boys to observe the daily prayer at the mosque.

Five boys from the class appear to have taken part in the prayer, bowing and touching their foreheads to the floor, according to a video shot by a parent chaperone. The boys were flanked by mosque members. One of them was Jewish, according to the chaperone.

The chaperone, a Wellesley mother whose identity has not been revealed, gave the video to Americans for Peace and Tolerance, a Boston nonprofit that acts as a watchdog for radical Islam in America.

“None of the teachers or school officials at the mosque intervened to stop them from participating in a Muslim ritual prayer,” said Charles Jacobs, the group’s co-founder and executive director. “One can only imagine if students were taken to a church and the priest had them kneeling and crossing themselves or taking the wafer; it would cross a line.”

Wellesley boys appear to be praying in this screen shot from a video of a school field trip to the Islamic Society of Boston’s Cultural Center. Wellesley boys appear to be praying in this screen shot from a video of a school field trip to the Islamic Society of Boston’s Cultural Center. Jacobs said after receiving the video in May, his group researched the incident. It edited the raw footage and made a video with a voiceover by a professional actor speaking the part of the anonymous source.

Jacobs, a columnist for the Advocate, writes about the incident in today’s paper (page 9).

Wellesley School Superintendent Bella Wong said she was aware of the field trip but not of students praying.

“No students took part in the prayers,” said Wong. “The prayers are in Arabic, and the students only observed from the side. They might have just been [bowing] on their own, but they weren’t really participating in the prayer.”

When asked if the students might have been imitating the motions of the prayer, Wong said she didn’t know.

“It could have been just a gentle motion,” Wong said. “I think probably if it was brought to someone’s attention, they would have stopped them. But someone may have talked to them; I don’t know.”

Bilal Kaleem, president of the Muslim American Society of Boston, which operates the cultural center, said it often hosts tours from church groups, synagogues and schools. Groups come specifically to witness a daily prayer, he said.

“During the tour, we make it clear that all our activities are open to the public, including prayer,” said Kaleem. “When someone asks us if they can take part, we say yes.”

He said they wouldn’t stop anyone who wanted to pray, but he was surprised to hear that non-Muslim students took part.

“Obviously the school has to decide when they’re visiting a religious place that they make the expectations clear to the students about what they should and shouldn’t do,” said Kaleem.

Wellesley Middle School Principal Joshua Frank did not respond to requests for comment, neither did the Social Studies Department head Adam Blumer, who organized the trip.

The video also shows a mosque representative making a presentation. She told the children: “At the time of the Prophet Muhammad, women were allowed to express their opinions and vote. In this country, women didn’t get that right until less than 100 years ago.”

Jacobs said this statement was false as no one had the right to vote – male or female – during the time of Muhammad. He said the presentation was intended to distract attention from the current mistreatment of women in Islamic societies.

“There are feminists around the world who are up in arms over the stonings in Iran and the honor killings which even have taken place in America,” said Jacobs. “Do we need to be so politically correct that we are going to abandon the plight of these women? That’s not the American way.”

The Advocate attempted without success to contact the woman who made the presentation. A representative for the mosque said the guide was a volunteer. However, the mosque said the volunteer was notified that the paper was trying to reach her.

Jacobs said that the Wellesley school should hold an assembly to correct inaccuracies in the presentation on the history of Islam.

To see the full video, visit

www.peaceandtolerance.org. FILM WILL BE ON OUR SITE TOMORROW MORNING.