Virginia school district cancels classes after uproar over Arabic calligraphy lesson where students

Virginia school district cancels classes after uproar over Arabic calligraphy lesson where students were asked to write 'There is no god but Allah'

Ninth-graders at Riverheads High School were given assignment to copy the Islamic creed known as shahada during world geography class
It reads: 'There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah'
Public recitation of the shahada is the first formal step in conversion to Islam but students were not asked to read it aloud
Students were also shown a Koran and invited to try on a scarf to learn about Islamic concept of modest dress

By Snejana Farberov For Dailymail.com

Published: 08:05 EST, 18 December 2015 | Updated: 10:25 EST, 18 December 2015

Education officials in a Virginia county have cancelled classes Friday over security concerns sparked by parents' outrage in response to an Arabic calligraphy lesson.

Augusta County School Board President Eric Bond announced Thursday that schools would be closed Friday.

In his statement, Bond said the decision to cancel classes was made 'out of an abundance of caution' after consulting with law enforcement. He noted that there was no specific threat to students but did not elaborate on the exact nature of the safety concerns.

Calligraphy kerfuffle: Controversy erupted after students at a Virginia high school were instructed to write a Muslim statement of faith (above), which reads, 'There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah,' as part of a world geography class

The incident that sparked the furor resulting in Friday’s sweeping school closures took place a week ago during a world geography class at Riverheads High School, where a teacher gave her ninth-graders an assignment that included practicing calligraphy by copying a piece of Arabic text known as the shahada, which is a Muslim statement of faith.

Recitation of the shahada in public is the first formal step in conversion to Islam. However, according to school officials, the ninth-graders were not asked to translate the statement or read it aloud.

Bond said that the school district received 'voluminous' phone calls and emails about the controversial lesson on Islam, which went viral on social media thanks to the efforts of a local parents and made national headlines.

'The communications have significantly increased in volume [Thursday], and based on concerns regarding the tone and content of those communications, Sheriff [Randall] Fisher and Dr. Bond mutually decided schools and school offices will be closed,' the statement put out by the district said.

The county also pulled the plug on all extracurricular activities through the weekend.

Augusta County students officially go on their winter break beginning Monday and won't be back to school until January 4.

According to Bond's statement, going forward, a 'non-religious sample of Arabic calligraphy' will be used to teach students in the world geography class about Islam.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3365741/Virginia-school-district-cancels-classes-following-uproar-lesson-Arabic-calligraphy-students-asked-write-no-god-Allah.html#ixzz3ui31syPI

if separation of church and state is law, which, basically it is, then will the powers that be tell us what is up here? wouldn't this be the same thing? is it really a shock to that school system that parents are in an uproar about this? who could blame the parents? i have no problem with religion, i just don't want it rammed down my throat! and since we have been in a war since 1990 fighting radical islamists, why do we want to allow anything related to their so called peaceful religion in our schools?

There should be an investigation into this incident, The schools are not allowed to show the bible, but they can show and talk about the Koran, There should be some jobs lost over this and Teaching licenses revoked for life.