School districts in Middle Tennessee have rejected a request from a Christian-based social activism organisation for them to submit copies of all school records pertaining to the reported Islamic curriculum being taught in their public schools.
The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) earlier asked the school districts for copies of all communications, policies and other school records about Islamic lessons in their public schools as it raised concerns about the alleged "Islamic indoctrination" of students.
It said its records request of all 146 Tennessee school districts last month is valid and it "isn't uncommon for a government entity to delay compliance," according to The Tennessean.
The report said Metro Nashville, Rutherford, Williamson and Wilson counties have not complied with the request after getting a sample letter from an attorney, citing specific issues.
Attorney Chuck Cagle of the Lewis Thomason law firm, which represents more than 70 school districts, said public records request as presented by ACLJ could cost the public school system hundreds of thousands in dollars, adding that copyright issues for materials requested could also be issues.
He said ACLJ's request can't be honoured the same way as it would be for a Tennessee resident.
The sample letter states: "Our client denies your request in full. Among many other defects in your demand, the Tennessee Open Records Act only requires that certain public records be made available for personal inspection by Tennessee citizens. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 10-7-503(a)(1)(B). A public records request made by an agent on behalf of a foreign business entity is invalid. Without waiving numerous other defects in your demand, your request is denied."
The ACLJ said it has received the sample letter from some districts.
Cagle said he wasn't aware of any districts that have complied with the records request.
"We deal with government entities regularly and anticipate the necessity of engaging in negotiations pertaining to the actual documentation received," executive counsel CeCe Heil said in an email to The Tennessean. "Our open records requests are valid and signed by an attorney who is a citizen of Tennessee."
The ACLJ has requested for all teaching materials being used in the schools, including tests, quizzes, assignments, instructional materials, lesson plans, study guides, communication and correspondence involving world religion.
"I've never seen a records request that asked for this volume of information in 25 years of practicing law," Cagle said.
The ACLJ said students in Tennessee have been forced to recite the Islamic conversion creed, "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger."
More than 200,000 have signed an ACLJ petition to stop "Islamic indoctrination."
In a video, St. Juliet Pastor Greg Locke, according to EAG News, said, "Let me tell you something, when they are in sixth grade they get a half a page of watered down Christianity that has about as much Bible as a thimble, if you will, and now there's 28 pages they have to learn about Islam, and Mohammad, and how it all came about, and about the holy Quran, and the Five Pillars of Islam, and how they pray, and when they pray, and where they pray, and how they pray, and why they pray, and about pilgrimages and all this and then they say that Allah is the only God."
