Jihad Watch
One of the oddest and most telling aspects of this Rick Perry/Aga Khan curriculum controversy is that when Pamela Geller and I started writing about the curriculum, it was scrubbed from the web. Now it has been scrubbed from the Google cache, as I noted here. This is highly suspicious, and gives the lie to those who claim that the curriculum material was actually innocuous, or that we weren't actually discussing the actual curriculum material, or that we were discussing curriculum material that was only used by a few Texas teachers at best. Clearly we had the right stuff, and clearly it was bad, and clearly Perry's people knew it was bad, and that is why it is gone now.
But Pamela Geller has screenshots of it all, as well as the full text, here.
When Geller and I first started criticizing the Rick Perry/Aga Khan curriculum on Islam for Texas schools, the reFirst, defenders of Perry such as David Stein and Ace of the Ace of Spades blog claimed that what we had wasn't the curriculum at all, and presented what they said was actually the curriculum. This turned out to be false, as I explained here: they were presenting one teacher's lesson plan as the official curriculum, while what we were presenting was actually the official material, developed by the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) and UT-Austin in a partnership known as the Muslim Histories and Cultures Program (MHC) and proudly announcing that it was the fruit of "Governor Rick Perry's desire to better educate Texas teachers on Muslim topics." It also says that "Governor Perry was instrumental in getting this program off the ground."
Neither Stein nor Ace nor any of those who have echoed their false claims have ever admitted that they were not working from the actual curriculum, and passing off as the official curriculum something that was not remotely that.
Second, as my old friend Bryan Preston claims here, many asserted that the curriculum -- the real one, that we presented -- wasn't so bad anyway, or as Bryan says, "I don’t think it’s a dawah." Preston also downplays the connection of Rick Perry to the curriculum, which I have shown in the quotes above. Dawah is Islamic proselytizing, and it takes many forms. In Methodology of Dawah by Shamim A. Siddiqi, a book that is designed to teach Muslims how to convert people to Islam, Siddiqi tells Muslims to present Islam in a "concocted or abbreviated form" and only introduce them to "the revolutionary aspect of Islam" after they convert.
Concocted = made up. Abbreviated = things are cut out. And that is just what the Perry/Aga Khan curriculum does: it presents a fantasy benign Islam, with all the violent and oppressive bits cut out. Here are some of the elements of the program that show it to be a whitewash of Islam:
Session One
* The main reading is from Carl Ernst’s Following Muhammad, the first three chapters. This book whitewashes Muhammad, saying that he “was, by all accounts, a charismatic person known for his integrity” (p. 85). Muhammad’s exhortations to make war against unbelievers, his multiple marriages and child marriage, and other negative aspects of his biography are explained away or ignored entirely.
* The curriculum directs participants to “consider Carl Ernst’s statement, ‘It is safe to say that no religion has such a negative image in Western eyes as Islam.’” Then it asks them: “Why is this so? How have political and economic relationships between the Middle East and Western Europe and the United States impacted perceptions of Islam, in the past and the present? How have they impacted perceptions of the ‘West’ among Muslims?” Note that participants are guided to see the “negative image” of Islam as the result of “political and economic relationships between the Middle East and Western Europe and the United States.” No hint is given of the possibility that Islam might have a “negative image” in the West because of jihad conquests, institutionalized oppression of women and non-Muslims, and the like.
* The curriculum quotes Edward Said, who ascribed all critical discussion of Islamic jihad and Islamic supremacism to racism and neo-colonialism, as warning that one should speak of “Islams rather than Islam,” and warns that in dealing with Islam “one has entered an astoundingly complicated world.” This invocation of Islam’s complexity is frequently used to discourage those who point to the Qur’an’s violent passages and Muhammad’s exhortations to warfare as evidence of Islam’s bellicose intentions. Yet Islamic jihadists routinely refer to this material with no hesitation based on Islam’s “complexity.”
Session Two
* Readings for the session entitled “Muhammad through History” include Celebrating Muhammad: Images of the Prophet in Popular Muslim Poetry and The Miraculous Journey of Mahomet. It notes, correctly, that “for millions of Muslims around the world, the Prophet Muhammad has become the paradigm, or role model, who is worthy of being emulated.” However, there is no hint whatsoever of how Muhammad, as a model to be emulated, has inspired jihad warriors and terrorists.
* The common Islamic apologetic claim that Islam inspired all the greatest achievements of Western Judeo-Christian civilization appears in the assertion that “there is strong evidence to suggest that Muslim poetic accounts of the mi’raj, reaching Europe through the Arab courts in medieval Spain, inspired the Italian writer Dante to compose his famous work, The Divine Comedy.” No mention is made of how Dante placed Muhammad in hell as a false prophet.
Session Three
* This session on the Qur’an makes no mention whatsoever of the elements of the Qur’an that exhort Muslims to hate unbelievers and make war against them (98:6; 48:29; 47:4; 2:191; 4:89; 9:5; 9:29: 9:123; etc.) The text used is Michael Sells’s Approaching the Qur’an: The Early Revelations, which doesn’t even include the sections of the Qur’an that most directly and emphatically call for violence against non-Muslims.
* The curriculum makes sure to point out that “believers point to this very perfection of the text as the proof of the prophethood of Muhammad,” and that “for many, the notion that the Qur’an is inimitable, that is, no human could possibly have produced anything so perfect, proves that it had to be God who revealed this message to Muhammad.” But it makes no mention of the text’s designation of non-believers as “the most vile of created beings” (98:6), the warlike passages noted above; its call to beat disobedient women (4:34) and the like.
Session Four
* This second session on the Qur’an tells participants to “discuss the role of the Qur’an in providing direction for an ethical life.” Here again, no mention is made of the ways in which Islamic jihadists use the Qur’an’s teachings to justify violence against and the subjugation of unbelievers.
* The curriculum lists eight central themes of the Qur’an. Although there are well over 100 Qur’an verses exhorting believers to jihad warfare, jihad does not make the list.
Session Five
* This session on the Sunni/Shi’ite split and other sects in Islam fails to mention one salient point: Islamic law calls for the execution of heretics and apostates; this law has been the foundation for an extraordinary amount of bloodshed between adherents of various Muslim sects throughout history and today.
Session Six
* This session dismisses as a “misconception” the idea that “Islam forbids music and representational art.” It does not explain why so many Muslims, including the Taliban who destroyed the Bamiyan Buddhas, came to hold this “misconception.”
Session Seven
* Participants are asked, “What conditions in Baghdad encouraged such a vast array of discoveries and inventions?” But the readings give no hint of the fact that Jews and Christians in Baghdad actually accounted for the great majority of these inventions. See here for a full explanation.
* Participants are also asked: “Why was there such an abundance of inventions and discoveries attributed to Muslims in Medieval times but not today?” This question guides students toward a discussion of the trumped-up and manipulative modern concept of “Islamophobia.”
* The curriculum states: “The religion that the Prophet Muhammad preached provided his followers an ethical and moral vision for leading a life of righteousness.” Again, no mention is made of Muhammad’s exhortations to hate and violence, his child marriage (which many Muslims consider exemplary behavior and imitate it), and the like.
* The curriculum states: “Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians, who were subjects of new Arab rulers, could maintain their religious practices provided they paid jizya, a tax in tribute in lieu of military service.” It gives no hint of the institutionalized discrimination and humiliation that this dhimmi status involved.
* The curriculum quotes Maria Rosa Menocal, the modern scholar most responsible for the myth of a tolerant, pluralistic Muslim Spain. It also discusses this tolerant Muslim Spain as a fact. In reality, however, Jews and Christians had a humiliating second-class status in Muslim Spain. When one Muslim ruler appointed a Jew as a local governor in Granada in 1066, the Muslims rioted and murdered four thousand Jews. The curriculum doesn’t mention any of that.
Session Eight
* The readings for this session again include Carl Ernst’s Following Muhammad, as well as John Esposito’s The Straight Path. Both are highly apologetic, one-sided works that give the reader little idea why Muslims would wage jihad or commit violence in the name of Islam. No works of other perspectives are included.
* The curriculum blames the restriction of rights of Muslim women on European colonialism, ignoring the many Islamic texts and teachings that restrict women’s rights.
Session Nine
* The participants are again directed to read Carl Ernst and John Esposito, as well as another modern-day non-Muslim Islamic apologist, Charles Kurzman. No works of differing perspectives are presented.
Don't believe me? Fine. Examine the material for yourself here.
Posted by Robert on August 30, 2011 6:07 AM | 67 Comments
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Comments to article:67 Comments
Author Profile Page Buraq | August 30, 2011 6:13 AM | Reply
There are several posters on JW who will have to eat their words! Perry has been extremely naive, at best!
Author Profile Page Poosh | August 30, 2011 6:18 AM | Reply
This is straight forward leftist/liberal propaganda as well (note the attacks on European imperialism), which figures as it's being taught in a university I assume. What on earth is Perry doing advocating such blatant pro-Islamic rubbish AND leftist accounts of history? This isn't just a whitewash of Islamic history and a program of creating myths - it's also a leftist piece of work as well. Note carefully some of the themes.
Perry seems to be both naive and ignorant - and a pawn in this case.
Author Profile Page jewdog | August 30, 2011 6:25 AM | Reply
It's not Rick Perry that people need for the nomination, it's Katy - an understandable mixup - I do it all the time.
Author Profile Page Active Listener | August 30, 2011 6:41 AM | Reply
Thanks Robert for identifying this situation and making us all aware that this material has been compiled and used in a public education setting. I live in a jurisdiction with a large number of the Aga Khan's followers, and wouldn't be surprised if this same set of materials (or a localized variant of it) isn't being referenced for what is being presented to my own children in the public school system. However, now being forewarned, I will be able to provide my children with some key questions to ask, should they find themselves presented with these lessons, so their teachers and their fellow students will become aware of some of the more "sensitive" aspects of these topics.
Author Profile Page duh_swami | August 30, 2011 6:44 AM | Reply
I notice the student is not encouraged to read Quran and come to their own conclusion...This is brain washing, pure and simple...If Perry goes for that, what else would he go for as POTUS?
Author Profile Page wildjew replied to comment from duh_swami | August 30, 2011 7:11 AM | Reply
Unfortunately it does not seem likely Perry will be asked any tough questions in relation Islam and the jihad, so long as we have this growing cadre of conservative Perry-defenders coming to the fore including, David Stein, Bryan Preston, Erick Erickson and sadly Daniel Pipes, Frank Gaffney, etc. I understand the passion inherent in Obama's defeat November 2012 - I share that passion - but at what cost?
Author Profile Page KrazyKafir | August 30, 2011 7:11 AM | Reply
Anyone who aligns him/herself with Islamists in order to advance their political career does not have America's best interest in their heart. They're cheap dhimmis. There are plenty of Conservative candidates to choose from who would never, ever, do that. It is a fatal flaw and freedom fighters that ignore that flaw betray themselves, and the cause of freedom.
Author Profile Page Kinana of Khaybar | August 30, 2011 7:11 AM | Reply
A history of the U.S.A. that did not include a discussion of slavery would rightly be regarded as a whitewash, to say the least. The Perry/Aga Khan curriculum has a supposed history of Islam that does not include discussion of slavery. It's a whitewash. And what is does include is standard apologetic pro-Islamic fare. It is indistinguishable from da'wa. It also conforms to Islamic law, in that Islam, Muhammad, and "Allah" are never subject to critical scrutiny.
Author Profile Page Poosh | August 30, 2011 7:15 AM | Reply
I see no evidence that Perry is anything other than naive and stupid. Again, notice the clear leftist agenda there, i.e "the white man" is to blame for every ill in the world. That's text book teaching at many unis. Why would Perry personally oversee something that advocated leftist propaganda? Stupidity and ignorance (in both senses) can be the only answer - not complicity.
Author Profile Page exsgtbrown | August 30, 2011 7:22 AM | Reply
Mr Perry could have a problem if his opponents pursue his questionable support for this material...but they won't...probably because they don't know squat about Islam either...
Author Profile Page jewdog | August 30, 2011 7:23 AM | Reply
Just what we need: Another Islam-is-the-religion-of-peace nudnik from Texas. Yahooooooooo!
Author Profile Page wildjew replied to comment from Poosh | August 30, 2011 7:26 AM | Reply
At what point does stupidity and ignorance become complicity? Can the leader of the free world afford to be stupid and ignorant. My first reaction to Politico's (Jonathan Martin's) lead story yesterday, "Is Rick Perry Dumb?" was, this is a pretty dumb question.
You are saying Martin is right. Perry is indeed dumb.
Author Profile Page wildjew | August 30, 2011 7:32 AM | Reply
This was written to ancient Israel by the prophet Isaiah. Maybe it applies to the U.S. today.
Isa 56:9 All you beasts of the field, come to devour, All you beasts in the forest.
His watchmen [are] blind, They are all ignorant; They [are] all dumb dogs, They cannot bark; Sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber.
Isa 56:11 Yes, [they are] greedy dogs [Which] never have enough. And they [are] shepherds Who cannot understand; They all look to their own way, Every one for his own gain, From his [own] territory.
Author Profile Page yeaborg | August 30, 2011 7:54 AM | Reply
Politicians are motivated by votes. Media executives are motivated by ratings. And the average voting citizen of the good 'ol existential materialist USA is motivated by trying to keep his/her mortgage paid and getting the kids through school in a stagnant economy. Until it decides to get a Koran and study it, the American electorate will to listen to whichever "expert" they are the most "comfortable" with. 9/11 was not sufficient to move us from Chamberlain to Churchill, and I'm afraid this religious duplicity isn't gonna register with Joe Sixpack either. Hope I'm wrong.
Author Profile Page Courreges W | August 30, 2011 7:56 AM | Reply
I was shocked to see Daniel Pipes diss Geller and defend Perry.
Oh, I get it now, Textbooks - any of the problems with Islam? IT'S ALL EUROPE'S FAULT! Oh, I bet I get an A on my test now, right?
Author Profile Page tanstaafl | August 30, 2011 8:17 AM | Reply
And that's taquiyya, taquiyya and taquiyya. If it advances the cause of Islam, it is halal. If governor Perry is a willing accomplice to this, he would pursue a foreign policy not that different than from our last two dhimmi presidents.
The next president has to be a candidate that is truly aware of the threat of Islam.
Author Profile Page Jaladhi | August 30, 2011 8:22 AM | Reply
If Americans go for Perry in 2012 like they did for Obama in 2008, they will simply prove once again - "fool me once shame on you , fool me twice shame on me!"
Author Profile Page Citizen K | August 30, 2011 8:57 AM | Reply
Robert,
You have failed to address the following:
SAISD is one of over 1000 Independent School Districts in Texas. What about the other 1000 or so?
The State Board of Education is run by 1 appointed official (chair) and 15 elected officials who vote on CORE curriculum.
In Sept. of 2010 the State Board did rule out utilizing some of the muzzie stuff. There also was an election in 2010 which purged the State Legislature of MANY liberals and is now 2/3 GOP. The State Legislature set new curriculum for the upcoming year.
The "cached" info FOR ONE QUITE LIBERAL INNER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT out of over 1000 had to change the curriculum, due state law between end of the 2010/2011 school year and for the 2011/2012 school year and would have been deleted old info.
How much is Ed Rollins paying you people? Without addressing questions posted of you over and over. IT BEGS THE QUESTION.
You may well be on some sort of scent, but obviously barking up the wrong tree and completely unwilling to admit it.
I'm done with Jihad Watch as you have totally discredited your previous excellent work.
I may be back to lurk from time to time, but until you address the questions posed of you and your partner Geller sufficiently. You are not credible.
Until that time http://thearmyyouhave.com/The_Army_You_Have/Retracto_files/Retracto%20the%20Correction%20Alpaca.mp3
Author Profile Page wildjew replied to comment from Jaladhi | August 30, 2011 9:00 AM | Reply
Millions of Americans will vote for Perry if he is the nominee -- irrespective of his Muslim-outreach -- even those who swore they would never vote for the lesser of the evils. Americans will vote for the Republican nominee because of the economy among other reasons.
Author Profile Page Eastview replied to comment from Kinana of Khaybar | August 30, 2011 9:00 AM | Reply
I noticed the absence of any mention of slavery, too, Kinana of Khaybar. Very damning.
One would think that by now it should have occurred to Rick Perry (and Michele Bachmann, and Mitt Romney, and Sarah Palin, and hopeless Ron Paul) that they need to spend some quality time investigating the history of Islam, with particular attention paid to its supremacist claims.
Although knowing something about Islam's theological stance is necessary, especially its claims relative to other religions, more urgently needed in order to assess this curriculum is a clear understanding of the distortions of history advanced as truth by its apologists. As with all Muslim's (I have yet to see a counterexample), the Aga Khan exaggerates Islam's positive contributions to the affairs of the world and whitewashes its destructiveness.
Robert, thank you for keeping this story alive. It's one that needs a thorough airing. Care to share with us exactly how you managed to retrieve the curriculum from the online black hole into which it had been thrown?
Author Profile Page undaunted | August 30, 2011 9:04 AM | Reply
Well researched and well said, Robert.
My original thought when this came out was that it was ill-advised for Pamela to make an issue of it. I was wrong.
Thanks for your leadership.
Author Profile Page sean | August 30, 2011 9:04 AM | Reply
And similar taqiyya is being taught to kuffar kids EVERYWHERE that these creeps are allowed to infiltrate the educational system: http://crombouke.blogspot.com/2010/01/islamic-infiltration-and-subversion-of.html
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