All schools in one district in Virginia in the US were shut yesterday after fierce controversy about a geography lesson where students were asked to trace the Muslim declaration of faith in Arabic calligraphy.
The "shahada" is the script that has to be recited just once in order to convert to Islam.
Some students refused to do it and parents at the Riverheads High School in August County complained they had been put at risk of indoctrination by the exercise, which also involved them wearing a Islamic-style headscarf, in which they were photographed by the teacher. After it was reported by the Schilling Show, protests from around the country were so vociferous that the schools were closed for reasons of "caution" although no specific threat was received.
The declaration states in Arabic: "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger."
The district defended the teacher on the grounds that the exercise was set in order to teach calligraphy and not Islam.
The district also claimed it was consistent with the Virginia Department of Education Standards of Learning, although it has now been dropped and different texts will be used in future. The point of asking the students to wear the headscarf was to teach them about the Islamic concept of modest dress, the district said.
Augusta County Schools in a statement: "While there has been no specific threat of harm to students, schools and school offices will be closed Friday, December 18, 2015."
The assignment said: "Here is the shahada, the Islamic statement of faith, written in Arabic. In the space below, try copying it by hand. This should give you an idea of the artistic complexity of calligraphy."
