IBD reports:
Seems the ACLU couldn't care less that a San Diego public school has set aside 15 minutes of classroom instruction time for Muslim students to pray, while non-Muslims twiddle their thumbs.
Right now it has no plans to legally challenge the budding madrassa as endorsement of a religion by government. Apparently the establishment clause only applies to the practice of Judeo-Christian rituals in public places.
The special accommodations for Carver Elementary's nearly 100 Somali Muslims don't stop with organized prayer. The school cafeteria has banned pork and other foods that conflict with the Islamic diet.
And the K-8 school has even added Arabic — the language of the Quran — to its curriculum, while segregating classes for girls, a la the Taliban.
In effect, Carver administrators have carved out a school within a school expressly for Muslims, elevating them above Christian and Jewish students. They've had 15 minutes of instruction time taken away from them, so Muslims can roll out their pray mats.
More on the "education" front from
CNS news:
The University of Michigan is preparing to spend $25,000 to install two footbaths at its Dearborn campus to accommodate Muslim students wanting to wash their feet before prayers.
Muslims initially were willing to raise the money to cover the cost, but the Michigan chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union -- often a foe of faith in the public square -- said there was no constitutional reason why the university could not fund the project.
Kary Moss, director of the group, told the Detroit Free Press that providing the footbaths was "reasonable" and "an attempt to deal with a problem, not an attempt to make it easier for Muslims to pray."
A Michigan ACLU spokeswoman declined to comment further until a formal opinion is issued on July 14.
Maybe it's time to separate school from state.
