Parents protested after a teacher asked students at a Virginia school to copy a Muslim statement of faith in Arabic calligraphy assignment.
The assignment was given in world geography class to students at the Riverheads High School in Augusta County. They were also asked to wear Muslim clothes, according to a report by the "Schilling Show," and were photographed in them by the teacher.
The Muslim statement of faith, known as shahada, translates to "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."
A meeting was held on December 11 between the teacher, a parent and school administration regarding the issue.
Parents said the students were not informed of the meaning of the Arabic text the students were asked to copy.
"Neither these lessons, nor any other lesson in the world geography course, are an attempt at indoctrination to Islam or any other religion, or a request for students to renounce their own faith or profess any belief," the school district told Fox News.
It explained that "the statement presented as an example of the calligraphy was not translated for students, nor were students asked to translate it, recite it or otherwise adopt or pronounce it as a personal belief."
The district it was all about learning calligraphy and not about teaching students about Islam.
"They were simply asked to attempt to artistically render written Arabic in order to understand its artistic complexity," it said.
In addition, it said the assignment was consistent with the Virginia Department of Education Standards of Learning.
About the Islamic dress, the district explained that the students were taught about the "modest dress adopted by many in the Islamic faith and were invited to try on a scarf as a part of an interactive lesson about the Islamic concept of modest dress."
"The scarf used in the activity was not an actual Islamic religious hijab," according to the district.
It said the school curriculum also covers other religions including Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism.
