Texas ed board adopts resolution limiting Islam in textbooks

[cory777]

Source: Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas State Board of Education adopted a resolution today that seeks to curtail references to Islam in Texas textbooks, as social conservative board members warned of what they describe as a creeping Middle Eastern influence in the nation's publishing industry.

The board approved the one-page nonbinding resolution, which urges textbook publishers to limit what they print about Islam in world history books, by a 7-5 vote.

Critics say it's another example of the ideological board trying to politicize public education in the Lone Star State. Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, which advocates for religious freedom, questioned why the resolution came at a time when "anti-Muslim rhetoric in this country has reached fever pitch."

"It's hard not to conclude that the misleading claims in this resolution are either based on ignorance of what's in the textbooks or, on the other hand, are an example of fear-mongering and playing politics," Miller said.



Read more: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2010/sep/24/241741/texas-ed-board-adopts-resolution-limiting-islam-in/news-breaking/

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UNCENSORED NEWS http://activistnews.blogspot.com

[Xipe Totec]

1. I think they've crossed a line somewhere

more like crucified it, but you get my meaning.

[LiberalFighter]

2. Wouldn't that be a violation of the Constitution?

Their personal religious views should not be the determining factor.

If they use their religious views than all mention of religion should be removed from the text books.

[Downwinder]

3. Damn, I never could add Roman Numerals. n/t

[awoke_in_2003]

11. +M. nt

[Canuckistanian]

18. LOL

Good one!

[awoke_in_2003]

19. thanks, I'll be here all week...

don't forget to tip your waiter on the way out :)

[Canuckistanian]

23. Should I try the veal?

My cousin from "Lon GIsland" says it's to die for.

[awoke_in_2003]

29. While we are on this tangent...

refresh my memory- where this stuff is from?

[Canuckistanian]

31. Jewish resorts in upstate New York - the "Borscht Belt" or "the Jewish Alps"

The Catkills. Or the Poconos in Pennsylvania. Where Woody Allen's parents would have taken their vacations.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borscht_Belt

or

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Poconos

[RKP5637]

4. This is really really getting ridiculous. n/t

[Tesha]

5. Does this mean they're discontinuing algebra and much of astronomy too?

The kids will be happy. Unemployable, but happy.

Tesha

[IndianaJoe]

6. Eliminating the use of zero will be one less digit to remember too!

Let's just not tell the kids that Islam ever had any role in world history. There's so much other stuff to learn about, why clog up their young minds with trifles like Islam.

Next, let's start eliminating Arabic words from the English language. Axing the following will greatly reduce dictionary printing costs:

Let's start with "A":

admiral - ami:r-al-bahr 'ruler of the seas' (and other similar expressions) - amara command
adobe - al-toba 'the brick'
albacore - al-bukr 'the young camel'
alchemy - al-ki:mi:a: - from Greek
alcohol - al-koh''l 'the kohl'
alcove - al-qobbah 'vault' - qubba vault
alembic - al-ambi:q 'the still' - from Greek
alfalfa - alfas,fas,ah 'fodder'
algebra - al-jebr 'reintegration' - jabara reunite
Algol - al-ghu:l 'the ghoul'
algorithm - al-Khowarazmi 'the (man) of Khiva'
alkali - al-qaliy 'calx' - qalay fry, roast
Allah - `allah, from contraction of al-ilah 'the god'
Almagest - al-majisti - from Greek
almanac - (Andalucian Arabic) al-mana:kh, of uncertain origin
amber - `anbar 'ambergris'
antimony - al-íthmid 'antimony trisulphide' - perhaps from Greek
apricot - al-burquq - from Greek
Arab - `arab
arsenal - dar as,s,ina`ah 'house of making', i.e. 'factory' - s,ana`a make
artichoke - al-kharshu:f
assagai - az-zaghayah - from Berber
assassin - h'ashsha:shi:n 'hashish eaters', from the Isma`ili sectarians
attar - `itr 'aroma'
ayatollah - 'ayatu-llah 'miraculous sign of God'
azimuth - as-sumut 'the paths'; see also zenith
azure - al-lazward 'lapis lazuli' - from Persian

[comtec]

10. 0 is arabic not islamic

and most of the great contributions the middle east made to the world came before islam.

that aside, i completely agree with you. it's rather silly... ok fucking stupid, that we keep allowing the mental retards to make decisions baout text books the rest of the country, who WANT to learn ACCURATE history have to live with!

[IndianaJoe]

17. Actually the Arabs got the zero from the Hindus

But to separate the Arabs from Islam is a little like separating the Pope from Catholicism. If we take Islam away from the Arabs, as the Texans seem to want to do, what do we make the Arabs? Jehovah's Witnesses?

[Igel]

20. Your source is really being inconsistent.

All the inconsistencies amount to "rah-rah! Isn't Arabic great! Rah-rah!"

Linguistic chauvinism.

So, let's see an inconsistency.

"Almanac" is probably from a local word that predated Arabic. Because it was borrowed from Arabic, it's Arabic.

Assagai is Berber. Azure is Persian. Alchemy is from Greek. But they're all in Arabic, have Arabic forms, so Arabic's "genius" is to account for them.

Yet "alcove" is Arabic because it originated there, even though we English-speakers got it from French, and the French got it from Spanish. "Arsenal" was borrowed from Arabic, although we ignore that it was the Italians who managed to massage it into something akin to the English word.

In other words, Arabic is such a wonderful language that it uniquely owns all lexical material that touches it. Some Muslims claim the same for all knowledge that passes through Arabic or Arab lands. Whatever its origin, if it came through Islamic lands it's "Islamic science"; no matter what lands it passes through on the way to English, it is as if borrowed directly from Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age. We don't tolerate this jingoism for Americans and Europeans. Let's not be biased.

[IndianaJoe]

27. My point is that these words found their way into English from

Arabic. And yes, I do think Arabic is a wonderful language. But no more so than Latin, or French, or Navajo. I can't really think of any languages that aren't wonderful. And I'm not biased. You're the one that seems a little biased against Arabic. And I'm not being "jingoistic" about Arabic. The only "jingoism" here is Texas's apparent decision to eliminate Islam from American history books in the name of God only knows what crackpot reason. Maybe we can fill the deletion of Islam from human history with something more wholesome -- perhaps the contributions of Confederate politicians and generals to the march of human progress, which has been their penchant in the past.

[Matariki]

7. The Texas State Board of Education is an Oxymoron

heavy on the morons. Everyday the movie Idiocracy seems more and more like a documentary.

[Drale]

8. I really hope

that Texas really really full of ignorant rednecks, because people like this make it seem that way, and when elections come around these people get tossed on their big fat bigoted asses.

[RKP5637]

25. I hope so much they get tossed out on their big fat bigoted asses. Somehow bigots

seem to do well in the US.

[rurallib]

9. may the intelligence of the Texas School Board isn't extoled in the Koran

can't imagine why it wouldn't be.

[Jefferson23]

12. Idiotic beyond words. n/t

[depakid]

13. There goes Astronomy

Achernar - Also known as Alpha Eridani, a star in Eridanus the River, Achernar is Arabic for "end of the river".

Aldebaran - The brightest star in Taurus, Alpha Tauri, is Arabic for "follower" because it trails behind the Pleiades in the sky.

Algol - Also known as Beta Persei in Perseus, Algol is Arabic for "The Ghoul" because it is a mysterious star that changes its brightness.

Altair - One of the Summer Triangle stars, Alpha Aquilae in Aquila the Eagle, is Arabic for "the flying one".

Betelgeuse - Alpha Orionis, or Betelgeuse, has a name slightly disputed, but most consider Betelgeuse to be Arabic for "armpit of Orion".

Deneb - Deneb, of Alpha Cygni, one of the stars of the Summer Triangle, is Arabic for "the tail of the hen". Cygnus is the constellation of the Swan.

Fomalhaut - Arabic for "mouth of the fish", Fomalhaut is the Alpha star in Pisces Austrinus, the Southern Fish.

Mizar - The Zeta star in Ursa Major, Mizar is Arabic for "the wrapping".

Thuban - Arabic for "the snake", Thuban, or Alpha Draconis, is part of the long and winding constellation of the dragon.
---------

Bah- we don't need no stinkin' Astronomy anyway. God created 'em all 6,000 years ago.

The Bible said it, the Texas State Board of Education believes it and that's the end of it.

[Igel]

24. The thing is, this is also a bit specious.

They take any term used in astronomy that has an Arabic form and then act as though astronomy currently depends on those terms.

Some of the terms are used. Some haven't been used for a long, long time. And some of those were rarely used.

And we'll ignore the distinction between names for things and the science involving the things named.

[depakid]

28. The post was partially tongue in cheek

But only partially, as astrophysics (and geophysics) are also targets of the creationist crowd.

Several years ago for example a film about Volcanoes was deemed "too controversial" (i.e. blasphemous) to be shown in a science museum in Fort Worth.

[truthisfreedom]

14. Nutjob censors!

[AlbertCat]

15. Do schools even use text books (and nothing else) any more?

Isn't this Texas group obsolete.... like their notions?

[sadbear]

16. They must be afraid that Christianity can't stand on it's own merits

Texas Evangelical Christians are terribly insecure about their religion.

[Taverner]

22. No religion can

[RKP5637]

26. They should be insecure. It's a ridiculous religion as are most.

[Taverner]

21. Why does this shit happen more often in Texas than elsewhere?

Just a question

[Exilednight]

30. Fairly easy to answer ..........

one word: Oil.

[Canuckistanian]

32. GOD FORBID anyone should learn about Islam

They MIGHT see how familiar it is to Christianity or Judaism. or how it drew from both the Christian and Jewish traditions and literature.

That would be terrible.