New York: A entire school district in the US State of Virginia was closed after parents' complaints about students learning Arabic calligraphy.
More than 10,000 students were kept home in Augusta County public schools, about 240 km from Washington, DC, after angry outcries from parents and threats made against the schools because students were given an assignment to copy the Shahada in the Arabic alphabet.
The assignment was in a world geography class, not in an Arabic language class, and the students did not know the meaning of what they were copying. While studying the Middle East the students were simply asked to copy the Shahada to understand the complexity of Arabic calligraphy.
"We regret having to take this action, but we are doing so based on the recommendations of law enforcement and the Augusta County School Board out of an abundance of caution," the school district statement said.
In addition to threats against the school, some parents called for the teacher, Cheryl La Porte, to be fired, claiming she was trying to indoctrinate her students with Islam.
"I do not trust her to teach my son and regardless of the outcome he will not sit in her classroom," Kimberly Herndon said in a Facebook post. The post was shared by more than 300 people.
The overreaction comes as attacks on mosques and threats against Muslims have spread across the United States in the wake of the San Bernardino, California shootings earlier this month.
It has also led to a call by Republican Party presidential candidate Donald Trump to bar all Muslims from entering the United States, even U.S. citizens who may be temporarily outside the country.
QNA
