New York High School Exam Praises Islam and Attacks Christianity [incl. John Esposito]

NY High Schools are making sure they keep their heads.

In the heat of the Ground Zero mosque debate, New York public high schools are pushing a test that slams the history of Christianity while exalting the spread of Islam. Some NY teachers were so upset when reading the Regents exam on Global History and Geography that they have complained to the press and even leaked their teacher’s guide on the test.

The exam gives high schoolers questions based on nine sources on the spread of Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. Buddhism is given a slight positive, yet mostly neutral treatment in the exam. The spread of Christianity gets a mixed treatment of neutral statements and pretty blatant attacks. Islam, on the other hand, gets promoted and hailed as not only positive, but specifically better than Christianity.

At least one Brooklyn teacher who administered the exam complained to the New York Post:

There should have been a little balance in there… To me, this was offensive because it’s just so inappropriate and the timing of it was piss-poor.

I have read a copy of the Regents Exam and here are some examples to show the imbalance.

In talking about Islam spreading to Africa:

“Merchants were carriers of Islam rather than agents of Islamization…Muslim men of religion were peacemakers.” – John L. Esposito, ed., The Oxford History of Islam, Oxford University Press

The school board’s choice of John Esposito as a source is enough to reveal a bias toward promoting Islam. Esposito is a Georgetown professor who has spent his career defending Radical Islam. He placed the blame for 9-11 on the lack of pluralism and tolerance in America. Esposito has long decried American ‘imperialism’ while defending Islamic terrorism. He has asked Jews and Westerners to reject the “irrational fear of terrorism.” The professor refuses to even study Islamic violence because it “reinforces stereotypes”.

Esposito is pro-Hamas, promotes Sharia in America, and thinks Muslim fundamentalist should be called “activists”.

Contrary to what some have advised, the United States should not in principle object to implementation of Islamic law or involvement of Islamic activists in government.

So New York schools are promoting the views of a man who thinks our government should include Sharia law and Muslim fundamentalists. Are parents in the Empire State aware of this fact?

The test gets worst. One source not only praises Islam but paints a picture of the spread of Islam being far superior to the works of Christianity throughout the world.

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 Christendom. Some of the finest centers of Moslem life were established in Spain. In Cordova, the streets were solidly paved, while at the same time in Paris people waded ankle-deep in mud after a rain. Cordovan public lamps lighted roads for as far as ten miles; yet seven hundred years later there was still not a single public lamp in London!
- Daniel Roselle, A World History: A Cultural Approach, Ginn and Company

Not only is this quote cheery picking subjects as a clear attack on Christianity, but the New York schools have specifically chosen a passage referring to Cordova, Spain which is also known as Cordoba, Spain. Of course, the Ground Zero mosque was originally going to be called the Cordoba House. And just read the question students must answer after reading that statement by Roselle:

According to Daniel Roselle, what are two ways Islam improved the lives of people in Spain?

That question is all positive and ignores atrocities by Muslims at the time. But when the tests tackles the mission work of Christianity it goes on the attack.

Common Procedures used by Friars in Converting Areas in Spanish America:
• Idols, temples, and other material evidences of paganism destroyed
• Christian buildings often constructed on sites of destroyed native temples in order to symbolize and emphasize the substitution of one religion by the other
• Indians supplied construction labor without receiving payment

Source: Based on information from Charles Gibson, Spain in America, Harper Torchbooks

Though the school board chose a pro-Islam writer with Esposito, they clearly did not choose a pro-Christianity historian in Charles Gibson. Gibson (who is deceased) was an ethnohistorian. Ethnohistory is known for going beyond accepted historic methods and utilizing things like folklore and oral tradition as primary sources.

There was some positive writing and questions in the exam about the expansion of Christianity mixed in with the bad. However, all quotes on the advancement of Muslims and questions about them were positive and even celebrating Islam. Which is shocking when you consider the true history of the spread of Islam being marked with violence. For some examples, go to Andrew Boston’s blog on this topic found here.

I have personally walked places in Morocco and Indonesia where Christians and others have been slaughtered all for the promotion and dominance of Islam. Why are such examples ignored in New York schools if not to simply promote Islam and degrade Christianity?

We do not serve our youth in this country by spreading lies about history. Many on the Left have slammed schools of the past for being too pro-America and ignoring our missteps. But now those same academics and elites want us to ignore historic violence by Muslims just to spread their versions of pluralism and tolerance. That is wrong, and it is time people are informed and stand up against this ghastly behavior.

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Paul Cooper is a husband and father above all else. With a wife and 2 daughters he could use a dog, but sadly he only owns a cat – a female cat no less. Paul is also a pastor, blogger, and business owner. Find him on Twitter.

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