# It seems inevitable that US schools will soon need to teach about Islam. **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [November 8, 2014, 6:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050 "2014-11-08T06:28:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/21 "2014-11-08T14:42:59Z")
When I was in high school we had a rather unique sociology class. We had representatives from various religions come to speak with us. These included a priest, rabbi, I think a Mormon, and a group of Hare Krishnas! That was memorable. Can you imagine that today? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/22 "2014-11-08T15:03:39Z")
> [@Llama\_Llogophile](#): > > When I was in high school we had a rather unique sociology class. We had representatives from various religions come to speak with us. These included a priest, rabbi, I think a Mormon, and a group of Hare Krishnas! That was memorable. Can you imagine that today? No, I couldn’t. Where would you even find a Hare Krishna today? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/23 "2014-11-08T15:58:26Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Why need somebody know the fundamental difference between Sunni and Shia? How can somebody compete any better by knowing any of this? > > Does Bill Gates? How about Donald Trump? Stephen Hawking? You don’t think businessmen, scientists, leaders, etc. ever have to deal with Muslim countries or people? ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/24 "2014-11-08T16:04:33Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > No, I couldn’t. Where would you even find a Hare Krishna today? 🙂 It’s not hard to find them. You won’t run into them at airports any more, but they’re in every major city. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/25 "2014-11-08T16:16:24Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > You don’t think businessmen, scientists, leaders, etc. ever have to deal with Muslim countries or people? If they do, I hope they don’t have to rely on something they learned when they were 14. I used to do a lot of business in Japan. We all took classes on Japanese culture and business practices, that we could apply literally the very next day. Now, I’m all for teaching kids about different cultures, including religion, when they are in school. But let’s get real. People don’t retain much form their education. Think of how many people took their 2 years of Spanish in HS, and are lucky if they remember how to say: _Dónde está el baño_? Prime example: **Der Trihs**. I can double dog guarantee you he learned about world religions in high school, but he doesn’t remember! ---
**Author:** ![btthegreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f4b2a3/32.png) [@btthegreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/btthegreat)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/26 "2014-11-08T16:16:58Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > If for no other reason than teach the difference between Sunni and Shia. > > In order to produce kids able to understand the modern world and compete in it, the American School System will very soon need to say\* something\*. > How do you think that should/ will work out? Learned some basics in either Middle School or High School before there was a ‘war on terror’ and I am 53 years old. A lot of it centered on the Israeli -Arab conflict but extended into a shallow understanding of the faiths of both. Our problem in this country is teaching world history or geography, or cultural studies at all with budget cuts and the total indifference of parents, schools and media in any subjects that do not directly improve on nationalized test scores or the 3 R’s we have decided constitute all valuable education. Our educational myopia is as chronic as it is deeply and profoundly stupid, far apart from bigotry against Muslims. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/27 "2014-11-08T16:17:47Z")
Adding to the chorus asking what the big deal is. I certainly learned a bit about world religions in history class. I’m pretty sure that was freshman year in high school. Seriously, what is the controversy? ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/28 "2014-11-08T16:20:50Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > Yep. I don’t remember much about elementary school in this respect, but High School World History was a requirement for everyone, and of course we learned about Budhism, Judaism, Islam. We did not study the theology, of course, but we studied the history. :smack: I totally spaced on the fact that I took that World History class at a Catholic High School (I only went one your of HS at a Catholic school, the rest at public schools). Imagine that!!! ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/29 "2014-11-08T16:30:05Z")
I went to public school, and I think I learned something about Islam and other world religions there. ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/30 "2014-11-08T16:59:27Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > Why need somebody know the fundamental difference between Sunni and Shia? How can somebody compete any better by knowing any of this? > > Does Bill Gates? How about Donald Trump? Stephen Hawking? > > Nobody that I know who is successful can tell me any difference between them. Engineers, Pharmacists, Doctors, teachers, etc…nope, none of my acquaintances… Oklahoma City can’t be _that_ monocultural! Here in Houston, any gathering of “Engineers, Pharmacists, Doctors, teachers, etc” would\* include\* Muslims–both Shia & Sunni. (Who, being educated, civilized people, get along quite well.) Also members of several world faiths–plus a few “none of the above.” The ability to earn money is not the only reason to get educated. But there are practical benefits in knowing what the heck is going on in the world. I agree that Donald Trump probably remains ignorant… ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/31 "2014-11-08T17:05:26Z")
In middle school they taught us about the five pillars, the Kaaba, the holy cities, and some tidbits about Muhammad’s life. Not exactly an indepth focus, but there ya go. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/32 "2014-11-08T17:26:11Z")
I don’t actually believe any public school system in America doesn’t include units on Islam as part of social studies and history. Usually you actually hit world history twice, once in middle/junior high school and once in high school. Usually Islam is covered in both, especially since everyone learns about the Crusades. I mean really every school system in America probably teaches kids a very brief outline of history from Sumer to WWII, which cannot avoid Islam and the Middle Ages during which Islam’s expansion was very important both historically, culturally, and scientifically. I would also wager most of these units on Islam probably cover: -The Sunni/Shia split -Brief explanation of who Muhammad was -Five pillars -Important of pilgrimage and Mecca -Important scientists and mathematicians of the Muslim world during the Middle Ages, especially since later Renaissance Europeans learned a lot from them I’d argue if people don’t retain this (and this thread suggests they don’t) it’s unlikely they’d remember even more detailed explanations. The truth is as an adult if you want to know a lot about another religious group you need to be willing to actually read about it on your own. If you have no practical reason to do so you’d be “learning for pleasure” which many people simply have no interest in. Aside from people who work for the State Department or parts of the military, or who intend to teach this stuff, not many people have a practical reason to know in-depth about other religions. I wager most Americans actually can’t tell you much about Judaism. They know that the Old Testament in Christianity is shared with Jews, but I doubt they can explain what the Menorah is about, what the Talmud is etc. ---
**Author:** ![DinoR](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dinor/32/2821_2.png) [@DinoR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DinoR)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/33 "2014-11-08T17:31:37Z")
I spent 12 years in what would probably be called a “religious indoctrination center” aka as catholic school. We had world religion classes both in grade school and high school. Religion was also a subject talked about within the context of history classes. Even more attention was paid to the differences between various sects of christianity, ---
**Author:** ![rock\_party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e19b73/32.png) [@rock\_party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rock_party)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/34 "2014-11-08T17:56:22Z")
Then there’s the right wing groups that are bent on changing textbooks. Some are demanding Islam, Jihad, ect. be shown in as dark a light as possible. Probably not a good idea to foster fear and intolerance in seventh graders but there you go. These are often the same groups that rail about “creeping sharia” and are responsible for whittling down evolution to a paragraph or so in biology textbooks. ---
**Author:** ![usedtobe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@usedtobe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/usedtobe)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/35 "2014-11-08T18:17:03Z")
I’d be overjoyed if 4th graders in the US ever get to a point where they can not only name at least 5 Non-Christian religions AND point to a map where those religions originated/are most common. It annoys me no end that for everyone I knew (white boomer), “World History” was “Look at all the cool stuff brutal White People did to the Pagans”. American History was “Manifest Destiny made us great (and pleased our God (the one and only true one, of course)” and the Monroe Doctrine made us the biggest bully in the World - yeah, us! ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/36 "2014-11-08T18:27:03Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > If that is true, it’s the first I’ve heard of it happening in public schools. Generally I hear complaints that they _aren’t_ being taught it. Are you for real? World religions has been a part of the public school curriculum for decades. I remember having a pretty extensive world religions unit in 7th grade back in the early 90s. I love my liberal buddies, but I can’t wait until they stop this hysterical nonsense about religion. It’s making us look terrible. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/37 "2014-11-08T18:35:01Z")
I was taught about Islam in public high school in the 1970s. What is the big deal? ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/38 "2014-11-08T18:38:16Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > I went to public school, and I think I learned something about Islam and other world religions there. I went to high school in rural Pennsylvania 30 years ago - and learned about world religions, including Islam. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/39 "2014-11-08T20:09:36Z")
When I went to school, we learned about how those wacky ancient Greeks believed that Poseidon was the god of oceans and earthquakes, and his brother Zeus of course handled thunderbolts, and _his_ son Hephaestus married Aphrodite – who cheated on him with Ares – and so on, and so on. Bunch of false mythology that nobody of any sense believes in, amirite class? Anyhow, the test is on Friday. So how come they can’t teach the beliefs of Islam? ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2014, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050/40 "2014-11-08T20:31:51Z")
Have we any evidence other than Der Trihs’ unsourced rant that world religions aren’t being taught in public schools? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-seems-inevitable-that-us-schools-will-soon-need-to-teach-about-islam/704050.md?page=3)