A New Jersey mother is suing officials and teachers in her son’s middle school charging that seventh-grade students were subjected to Islamist propaganda and explicit calls to convert to Islam. No other religion was being taught to their children except for Islam.
The suit, filed in a U.S. district court against the Chatham Middle School, claims the students’ First Amendment rights (freedom of religion and separation of religion and state) were violated by the curriculum used in their World Cultures and Geography class.
Libby Hilsenrath and Nancy Gayer, whose sons were exposed to the course material, originally brought their concerns to the attention of the school board. Instead of an actual investigation, Hilsenrath charges that those concerns were disregarded.
After the meeting, and particularly after an appearance on the Tucker Carlson Show, the mothers were denounced in the community and on social media as racist, xenophobic, hateful and Islamophobic.
Richard Thompson, whose public interest law firm is representing Hilsenrath, who brought the suit, remarked, “What would people say if our public schools taught Christianity as the true faith? After watching this video, I can’t imagine any reasonable person saying this is not Islamic indoctrination.”
One of the videos ends with the prayer, “May God help us all find the true faith, Islam. Ameen.” The video also makes statements about Islam that are not qualified with phrases such as “Muslims believe...” Rather, the video states as facts:
- “Allah is the one God who created the heavens and the earth, who has no equal and is all powerful.”
- “Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is the last & final Messenger of God.”
- “What is the Noble Quran? Divine Revelation sent to Muhammad (S) last Prophet of Allah. A Perfect guide for Humanity.”
- “Islam: A shining beacon against the darkness of repression, segregation, intolerance and racism...”
The video also contains excerpts from the Quran stating that Islam is the “perfected” religion and the only religion for mankind. Thompson also says the background music which includes the poem “Qaseedah Burdah” in Arabic describes Christians and Jews as “infidels” and praises Muhammad in detail for slaughtering them.
