Californians like to say that as California goes, so goes the nation. If true, parents in California and across the nation need to listen up.
At a time when Christian prayers are banned, Christmas carols censored and even “Moments of Silence” are considered violations of student civil rights, one social studies teacher at a taxpayer-funded school in Orange County, California infuriated some local parents by forcing her seventh grade class to not only learn, but sing, a song praising Islam.
To add insult to injury, the teacher wrote the lyrics and used “Fight Song” by pop star Rachel Platten for the music – a song so popular with kids that Platten’s video has been viewed more than 97 million times worldwide as we go to print.
The singing event happened at the Spring View Middle School in Huntington Beach. Here’s a sample of the lyrics for the song entitled: “This is their fight song…” “spread Islam now song.”
“Like a sandstorm in the desert, sending camels into motion,
like how a single faith can make a heart open,
they might only have one god,
but they can make an explosion.And they don’t really care,
If no Jews of C’s believe
Cause they still have
A lot of others to reachIslam…Allah’s on the way
They will preach them loud tonight
Can you hear their voices this time?”
Nichole Negron, a parent who led the protest against the song, voiced her anger over the lyrics during public comments at the Ocean View School Board meeting earlier this week. According to CBS Los Angeles, Susan Negron, Nichole Negron’s mother also spoke saying:
“I believe that by singing this song, the children feel comfortable believing that maybe Allah is the only god, and maybe that they should start following him.”
Advocates countered by pointing out that the public school social studies curriculum for Huntington Beach seventh graders included studies covering the world’s big religions including Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Buddhism.
Nichole Negron was unmoved saying that part of her son’s Islam lesson included an illustration of a stick-figure guy proclaiming: “Believe in Allah! There is no other god.”
In a statement that many thought might include an apology and a pledge to end the practice, school district superintendent Carol Hansen suggested that the Islam lesson set to a pop song wasn’t wrong, it was just poorly timed. In her statement, Hansen said:
“It was unfortunate that the lesson on Islam ended just prior to the tragic world events on Friday, Nov. 13.” “It was not the intention of the teacher to incite anger or offend.”
Then she issued a non-apology apology saying:
“I apologize on behalf of the district if the song used in the World History lesson may have offended anyone…” and that the teacher (who was not identified) did not mean “to incite, anger or offend.”
