A Christian mother from Tennessee is asking a county's board of education to remove a history textbook that supposedly promotes Islamic propaganda to schoolchildren.
Michelle Edmisten, a founder of the Facebook group Sullivan County Parents Against Islam Indoctrination, wants the book "My World History" to be "yanked from the school immediately."
Edmisten called the education board's attention to the textbook after her daughter was asked to use the publication for an assignment where students were asked about the name of Islam's holy book, and to identify the five pillars of Islam.
The mom told the board that her daughter felt that "some of the assignments went against her beliefs as a Christian."
"I would like to see parents, Christians, veterans, anyone that's anyone, stand up for this fight. How can I, as a Christian, say that I have these values?" Edmisten said, as quoted by The International Business Times.
This incident prompted the Christian mother to file a complaint with the education board asking the latter to pull out all copies of the textbook "My World History" from all schools in Sullivan county, saying the book gives "false claims and views on Islam" and tries to "normalise" the understanding of the Islamic faith to their children.
Under the policies of Sullivan County, school heads have 15 days to convene a review committee to "determine the extent to which the [challenged] material supports the curriculum."
Some groups such as the National Coalition Against Censorship, however, disagreed with Edmisten's complaint, saying it "sadly reflects larger efforts to purge lessons on Islam from schools in Tennessee."
The group also questioned moves to revise the school curriculum in the county retaining lessons on religions including Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism, but removing information "on the history and spread of Islam, the life and teachings of Muhammad, and the study of Islamic art."
