Not knowing about it would foster ignorance. I’ve already said I am not an explicit advocate for the event. After all there are only so many school days in which to fight ignorance on many topics, and why pick this subject over other ones? However, like I also said in another post, I support the organizers of the event way more than those who liken them to jihadists.
In the ideal world, there would be no overt or subtle pressure to wear – anything, really. But fostering ignorance on the subject won’t do anything for women overseas, and threatening a boycott (or worse – not sure exactly what the students were threatened with in the OP) will do more to foster exclusion than cultural pressure to dress a certain way will.
Yes.
I’m sorry, was that a trick question ? Cause yanno. Maybe if they had at your school, you might be hip to the fact that confession isn’t really much of a Thing any more - these days, people just go to a shrink for the same service. And maybe a few Lutherans could have chimed in that hey, confession isn’t the Catholics’ private turf ; while Methodists would have opined that they also do it, just directly to God to save on paperwork and overhead.
The tagline of this forum is fighting ignorance. “Fighting” would be a verb there, not an adjective.
Secular muslims [given a choice] do NOT wear the hijab. Really, go to Turkey, as one example, and have a look.
Some (but by no means all) Islamic cultures force all women to wear the hijab (or niqab or burqa) irrespective of whether the woman is “secular”.
The whole concept of secular muslim plus oppressive clothing is somewhat oxymoronic.
I have mixed feelings about this. Equating any given adherent of Islam with “acts of Muslim terror” is clearly as wrongheaded as equating any given American Christian with the acts of Timothy McVeigh. (Hey, don’t complain to me; you guys haven’t done enough to denounce him.) And sending a school child’s identity to your hate group mailing list is totally beyond the pale.
On the flip side, assertions that every cultural teaching is valid ring hollow. Would we be okay having a slaveowner share her claims that slavery is a natural condition justly ordained by God?
Furthermore, I generally oppose religious teachings in public schools – even minority religions we feel are unfairly treated.
As a non Muslim, feminist (women’s history minor) woman who likes wearing headscarves - they don’t seen to be at all.
Being made to wear them might be - but it depends how much choice vs. how much force is happening - and that depends on the microculture and the woman. Many Muslim women I know selectively wear their headscarves. They don’t wear them to work or to socialize with Westerners. They wear them to Mosque and when they socialize in mixed gender groups of primarily other Muslims or in predominately Muslim neighborhoods.
High heels are a force of oppression - or maybe symbol of a woman’s freedom and her owned sexuality. But I choose to wear my heels selectively. Some pair of shoes are not appropriate for work. Some not appropriate for church.
And do you know that they do that in public schools? The offer coursework on World Religion. Our district doesn’t have a specific World Religions class, but the kids get quite a bit of it in World Culture in 9th grade and then World History in 10th. Because in order to understand History you need context. And for most of History, religion plays a huge role - you can’t ignore the Council of Trent or Martin Luther and understand European History - nor can you ignore Islam and understand Middle Eastern History, or Hinduism and its intertwined caste system if you want to understand India.
Teaching about something isn’t the same as advocating for it. And teaching about other cultures helps foster understanding - you may not like religion, but the freedom to worship is enshrined in our culture and Constitution.
I wouldn’t want someone to come into my kids’ schools and lead a prayer or preach, but I’m fine with discussions about religious culture.
We’re not talking about anyone “coming into” public schools. We’re talking about a student who was already enrolled in a school, explaining her cultural practices in what I gather was a “show and tell” kind of way. I’d be okay with any student explaining any of his/her cultural or religious practices: “This is what we do, and how/why.” To forbid it would be censorship and promoting ignorance.
I know some people do describe themselves as “secular Muslims,” but what do other people actually take this to mean? If you don’t believe the beliefs, how are you a Muslim?
Having observed Muslims insisting their 9-year-old daughters wear the hijab while the children objected and complained, I despise the sight of this head covering. Yes, I understand that the wearer often wears it of their own free will, meaning they are not directly forced to do so, but it’s a reflection of the success of their brainwashing, which makes it more disturbing to me, not less.
I feel the same way about other religions’ dress codes, and about our own oppressive US laws that force women to wear shirts. At least when people are forced to do something though, the fact that they are doing it is not a sign that their minds are not intact.
Of course no one should be threatening high school students or carrying on about a “Muslim agenda” because of this school’s event, and I do not condone such horrendous behavior.
In the guise of “Let’s learn about all sorts of different cultures, today we will learn about Catholicism.” that would be completely appropriate.
I wish my school had spent more time teaching me about the existence of different religions. I grew up Catholic, and had practically no exposure whatsoever to other religions. I knew a tisch about Judaism, since we had Jewish holidays off, and they touched on Jesus being a Jew in religion classes I took at the Church. Other than that, I’m embarrassed at how little I knew about Islam and the other Christian denominations.
For the purposes of this thread, it doesn’t matter what the hijab or confession signfy. The point is, a teenager should not be harassed in her own home by internet hate groups like Jihad Watch.
Now that she’s been doxxed, she could be in real trouble. The internet has become a much uglier place over the last year as online groups have increasingly started to create real world problems like doxxing, swatting, and organized harassment campaigns. And the hell of it is, there’s no real way to put the genii back in the bottle. She’s been identified as a target and her info’s out there, now. She could be hearing about this for the next ten years.
Eventually, in twenty years, this sort of thing will lead to the end of internet anonymity (which is more like a fiction, but still). It will be made illegal to connect without logging your identity with someone so that harassing and harmful behavior and threats can be dealt with by the police. Unfortunately, I’m not clever enough to see a way to curb the harassment outside of prosecution.
You know, when I was a child, my mom dressed up in a salwar kameez and came to school with me and talked a little bit about Hindu culture. We weren’t pushing our religion! To a roomful of Christians? It just makes the kids a little bit more culturally sensitive. It makes them aware that there are other ways to live.
I knew about Catholicism and Christianity from an early age. I am immersed in it for heaven’s sakes! It was nice to get a chance to share a little of my culture.
I had lots of Muslim friends. Some of them were innocent young girls. I hope their daughters are not being abused or picked on or tormented just because they happened to be born Muslim.
Radicalism breeds with isolation and ghettoization. Even if you are opposed to Islam and its tenets, you shouldn’t have a problem with kids talking about their Islamic practices in school.
Me too. I got as far as “Sikh Day went okay,” and thought, “OP, be happy with your idiots because they’re much smarter than my local idiots.”
Well, salwar kameez isn’t really directly associated with religion. Of course, there’s nothing inherently Muslim about a hijab either.