OLMSTED FALLS, Ohio — Faced with the threat of a federal lawsuit, the Olmsted Falls schools have pulled a video about Muslims in America from its seventh-grade social studies curriculum.
School Superintendent Jim Lloyd said the district agreed to remove the 2005 documentary TV show, “30 Days: Muslims and America,” rather than spend money defending the right to show it.
“Muslims and America” is narrated by Morgan Spurlock, best known for his film “Super Size Me,” in which he ate only McDonald’s for one month. It follows a Christian man who lives as a Muslim for 30 days with a family in Dearborn, Mich., sharing the family’s culture, studying the Koran and attending prayers.
Jenny McKeigue – a mother of three who works for the district part-time as alumni director – objected to the show, which her son saw in class in 2010. She said it promoted Islam and did not fairly represent all ethnic and religious groups. “I said, you probably should remove the video,” McKeigue said. “It’s not historic and it’s really inappropriate.”
However, McKeigue said she didn’t get anywhere with the district, and earlier this year, she contacted the Thomas More Law Center, in Ann Arbor, Mich., which in its own words “promotes Judeo-Christian heritage and moral values.” The law center called the program an “Islamic proselytizing video.”
“Teachers may not constitutionally show videotapes that violate the neutrality they must maintain toward religion or that engages in religious instruction,” said Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel of the law center. “Showing ‘Muslims and America’ violated those principles and the establishment clause of our Constitution. Under the guise of teaching the history of Islam to seventh-graders, history teachers were proselytizing students to the Islamic faith.”
Sun Star Courier, 4 October 2013
Richard Thompson is on record as stating: “Islam is more than a religion. It is a political ideology that regulates every aspect of human existence and calls for the Islamic domination of the world. Since radical Muslims know they can never defeat our military on the battlefield, they devised the strategy of internal subversion.”
He added: “Like the ancient Trojan Horse welcomed within the city’s gates, Islam has entered America disguised as a religion. But its ultimate objective is political: Destroy America and establish an Islamic nation under Shariah law. So while America sleeps, they are awake and subverting our government, as well as our public schools and universities. And we will not be deterred from our efforts to stop them.”