Author: Daniel Pipes
Publication: The New York Post
Date: February 11, 2002
Think like a Muslim
Could it be that an important textbook
is proselytizing American 12-year-olds to convert to Islam?
The book in question is "Across
the Centuries" (Houghton Mifflin, 2nd edition, 1999), a 558-page history
that covers the millennium and a half between the fall of Rome and the
French Revolution. In the multicultural spirit, about half of its eight
sections are devoted to the West, and the other four deal with Islam, Africa,
Asian empires, and pre-Columbian America.
"Across the Centuries" is a handsome
artifact, well written, packed with original graphics, and generally achieving
the publisher's goal that "students learn best when they are fascinated
by what they are learning."
At the same time, there is much
in it one can argue with, such as its idiosyncratic coverage of subjects
(sub-Saharan Africa gets four times more space than India?). But the really
serious problem concerns the covert propagation of Islam, which takes four
forms:
* Apologetics: Everything Islamic
is praised; every problem is swept under the rug.
Students learn about Islam's "great
cultural flowering," but nothing about the later centuries of statis and
decline. They read repeatedly about the Muslims' broadmindedness (they
"were extremely tolerant of those they conquered") but not a word about
their violence (such as the massacres carried out by Muhammad's troops
against the Jews of Banu Qurayza).
* Distortion: Jihad, which means
"sacred war," turns into a struggle mainly "to do one's best to resist
temptation and overcome evil." Islam gives women "clear rights" not available
in some other societies, such as the right to an education? This ignores
the self-evident fact that Muslim women enjoy fewer rights than perhaps
any other in the world. ("Across the Centuries" implicitly acknowledges
this reality by blaming "oppressive local traditions" for their circumstances.)
* Identification as Muslims: Homework
assignments repeatedly involve mock-Muslim exercises. "Form small groups
of students to build a miniature mosque." Or: "You leave your home in Alexandria
for the pilgrimage to Mecca. . . . write a letter describing your route,
the landscapes and peoples you see as you travel and any incidents that
happen along the way. Describe what you see in Mecca."
And then there is this shocker:
"Assume you are a Muslim soldier on your way to conquer Syria in the year
A.D. 635. Write three journal entries that reveal your thoughts about Islam,
fighting in battle, or life in the desert."
* Piety: The textbook endorses key
articles of Islamic faith. It informs students as a historical fact that
Ramadan is holy "because in this month Muhammad received his first message
from Allah." It asserts that "the very first word the angel Gabriel spoke
to Muhammad was 'Recite.' " It explains that Arabic lettering "was used
to write down God's words as they had been given to Muhammad." And it declares
that the architecture of a mosque in Spain allows Muslims "to feel Allah's
invisible presence."
Similarly, the founder of Islam
is called "the prophet Muhammad," implying acceptance of his mission. (School
textbooks scrupulously avoid the term Jesus Christ in favor of Jesus of
Nazareth.)
Learning about Islam is a wonderful
thing; I personally have spent more than thirty years studying this rich
subject. But students, especially in public schools, should approach Islam
in a critical fashion - learning the bad as well as the good, the archaic
as well as the modern. They should approach it from the outside, not as
believers, precisely as they do with every other religion.
Some parents have woken up to the
textbook's problems. Jennifer Schroeder of San Luis Obispo, Calif., publicly
protested its "distinct bias toward Islam." But when she tried to remove
her son Eric from the classroom using this book, the school refused her
permission and she filed suit in protest a few weeks ago (with help from
the Pacific Justice Institute).
"Across the Centuries" involves
a larger issue as well - the privileging of Islam in the United States.
Is Islam to be treated like every other religion or does it enjoy a special
status? The stakes go well beyond 7th-grade textbooks.
The next edition of "Across the
Centuries" should give a hint of what's in store. Readers may wish to send
their opinions to Houghton Mifflin's editorial director for school social
studies, Abigail Jungreis (Abigail_Jungreis@hmco.com).
