Sacramento, Calif., Jan 18, 2008 / 04:50 am
A textbook used in Californian seventh-grade history classes at public schools has been criticized for proselytizing for Islam and bias against Christianity, WorldNetDaily reports. The textbook is part of a curriculum that teaches students to write Arabic by copying sentences from the Quran.
A student’s parent wrote to WorldNetDaily saying that the textbook “History Alive! The Medieval World and Beyond,” published by the Teachers’ Curriculum Institute, devotes large portions of seven chapters out of thirty-five total to Islam or Muslim topics. The religious teachings of Islam are covered in detail, while Christianity and other religions are neglected. "This book does not really go into Christianity or the teachings of Christ, nor does it address religious doctrine elsewhere to the degree it does Islam," the concerned parent wrote.
The book reportedly references Jews or Judaism four times. Once it indicates that Jews were tortured by Crusaders to force them to convert to Christianity. Other references point to Jews being blamed for the plagues and problems of the times.
“It does not talk about the Jews as making a significant impact on the culture at large,” the parent wrote.
The concerned mother, who lives in Sacramento, became worried when her son started describing how the book teaches students to write in Arabic. "I was disturbed probably [because] the greatest portion of this book is about Islam.”