Mother’s angry response to son's homework on Islam doesn’t get reception she probably expected
"My son WILL not be part of this in any sort of way," she said
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Your support makes all the difference.A mother who shared online a note she sent to her son’s school refusing to allow him to learn about Islam did not receive the floods of support she appeared to hope for.
Tara Cali, from the US state of California, responded angrily when her son’s teacher asked him to complete an assignment on Islamic beliefs and practices.
This is the seventh graders schoolbook here in Bakersfield for history. This is the assignment that accompanied it.
Posted by Tara Cali on Thursday, October 1, 2015
“My son WILL not be part of this in any sort of way. This is bad teaching material. He will NOT partake. If you have a problem with it, call our lawyer,” she wrote, and cited four verses from the Bible.
Underneath a QR code for pupils to scan and hear the call to prayer from the Blue Mosque in the Turkish city of Istanbul, she wrote: “seriously?”
“How about Christian practices? That sheet has never come home, this year or last!” she added in a box asking children to summarise what they had learned.
In an apparent attempt to spark outrage at the exercise her son was given, Ms Cali shared a photo of her letter on the KGET TV 17 local broadcaster’s website.
Alongside it she wrote: “This is the seventh graders schoolbook here in Bakersfield for history. This is the assignment that accompanied it.”
Her post was shared over 120,000 times, and sparked over 10,000 comments.
However, the most-liked comments in response to her post questioned why she did not want her son to learn about other cultures and religions.
Facebook commenter Eryn Tyler received over 12,400 likes for his comment to Ms Cali.
He wrote: “Let me first say, I'm a Christian, but I feel like you're taking this a little far. This is apart of World History. It's not to force religion upon your child. And this isn't just “here in Bakersfield.
“Remember that the teaching method is standardized. So that's a California thing. So good luck trying to find a different school that's NOT going to teach that textbook in this state.”
Another user called Taylor Nousch wrote: “The only thing I see here is how closed minded you are. I'm not very religious but last time I checked, Christianity promoted forgiveness, understanding, treating others with respect, and do unto others as you wish to be done unto you.”
Ms Cali wrote on her Facebook page on Thursday that she will be appearing on Fox News to discuss her post.
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