mahussain3
Son of Aa'ishah(R.A)
Muslim Prayers Stir US Debate
New York, July 28: American schools and universities showing flexibility to accommodate the religious need of Muslim students to perform their daily prayers are being accused of giving them preferential treatment.
"What (officials) are doing is to give Muslim students religious benefits that they do not give any other religion right now," charged Richard Thompson, president of the Thomas More Law Center, a Christian advocacy group.Critics say schools and universities are increasingly granting Muslim requests for prayer breaks and facilities.
The Muslim Students Association (MSA) says nine universities nationwide have prayer rooms for Muslim students and 17 have foot baths built or under construction.
Thompson accuses schools and universities of double standards for giving Muslim students a specific period to pray without doing the same for Christians.
"What you're going to see out there is more of these kinds of cases as the Muslim community tests how far it can go in the public school system."
Muslims pray five times a day at the appointed times: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, dusk, and before retiring to bed.
Prayer is one of the most important obligations of Islam, being one of the five pillars of Islam.
Legality
The debate over Muslim prayer was thrust into the spotlight a few months ago.
Carver Elementary School, a public school in San Diego city, became part of a nationwide controversy after setting aside a 15-minute break for its 100 Muslim students to pray.
A substitute teacher claimed that the school was indoctrinating students into Islam because a teacher's aide has led Muslim students in prayer.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a major rights advocate group, is mulling to sue the school for what it describes as unconstitutional prayer break.
"If you start carving out time in the school day that you would not do but for the need to let students pray, then it begins to look like what you're trying to do is to assist religion," argues David Blair-Loy, legal director for ACLU in San Diego.
However, ACLU admits that while overt religious symbols like crucifixes are not legal, whether foot baths and prayer rugs fall into the same category is not clear.
"That's a difficult one, and it's right on the edge," said Jeremy Gunn, director of the ACLU program on freedom of religion and belief in Washington, D.C.
But Muslim advocates insist that prayer accommodations are utterly legal.
Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council, says many schools accommodate Christian and Jewish needs and allow Jewish students not to take tests on religious holidays.
"The whole issue is to provide for a religious foundation for those who are observant while respecting separation of church and state."
There are between six to seven million Muslims in the US, less than three percent of the country's 300 million population.
New York, July 28: American schools and universities showing flexibility to accommodate the religious need of Muslim students to perform their daily prayers are being accused of giving them preferential treatment.
"What (officials) are doing is to give Muslim students religious benefits that they do not give any other religion right now," charged Richard Thompson, president of the Thomas More Law Center, a Christian advocacy group.Critics say schools and universities are increasingly granting Muslim requests for prayer breaks and facilities.
The Muslim Students Association (MSA) says nine universities nationwide have prayer rooms for Muslim students and 17 have foot baths built or under construction.
Thompson accuses schools and universities of double standards for giving Muslim students a specific period to pray without doing the same for Christians.
"What you're going to see out there is more of these kinds of cases as the Muslim community tests how far it can go in the public school system."
Muslims pray five times a day at the appointed times: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon, dusk, and before retiring to bed.
Prayer is one of the most important obligations of Islam, being one of the five pillars of Islam.
Legality
The debate over Muslim prayer was thrust into the spotlight a few months ago.
Carver Elementary School, a public school in San Diego city, became part of a nationwide controversy after setting aside a 15-minute break for its 100 Muslim students to pray.
A substitute teacher claimed that the school was indoctrinating students into Islam because a teacher's aide has led Muslim students in prayer.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a major rights advocate group, is mulling to sue the school for what it describes as unconstitutional prayer break.
"If you start carving out time in the school day that you would not do but for the need to let students pray, then it begins to look like what you're trying to do is to assist religion," argues David Blair-Loy, legal director for ACLU in San Diego.
However, ACLU admits that while overt religious symbols like crucifixes are not legal, whether foot baths and prayer rugs fall into the same category is not clear.
"That's a difficult one, and it's right on the edge," said Jeremy Gunn, director of the ACLU program on freedom of religion and belief in Washington, D.C.
But Muslim advocates insist that prayer accommodations are utterly legal.
Salam Al-Marayati, executive director of the Los Angeles-based Muslim Public Affairs Council, says many schools accommodate Christian and Jewish needs and allow Jewish students not to take tests on religious holidays.
"The whole issue is to provide for a religious foundation for those who are observant while respecting separation of church and state."
There are between six to seven million Muslims in the US, less than three percent of the country's 300 million population.