Texas to Publishers: Drop Pro-Islamic Refs

Texas school board officials Friday voted to tell publishers to counter pro-Islamic, anti-Christian content in future textbooks.

The Texas State Board of Education voted 7-6 to call for “balanced treatment” of religious groups in textbooks, the Austin American-Statesman reported.

The resolution is non-binding and it was unclear whether it would have any practical effect.

“This is a cosmetic exercise,” Dallas board member Mavis Knight told the newspaper.

Other board members, however, said the vote sends a message to schoolbook publishers.

“It’s just more of the same Islamophobic, xenophobic attitude we’ve been seeing around the country,” said Mustafaa Carroll, executive director of the Council of American Islamic Relations of Texas. “It’s not like Muslims are not part of the country. This kind of attitude is not healthy. It’s not even American.”

In March, the board voted to direct social studies textbook publishers to stress the superiority of American capitalism and Republican principles, and questioned the commitment of the Founding Fathers to a secular government.

Because Texas has such a large school system, it is seen as a driving force in the textbook publishing industry although advances in electronic publishing have diminished its influence somewhat.

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