The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) has filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to examine the unconstitutional practice of public schools promoting Islam and in the case of Maryland high school student Caleigh Wood, disparaging Christianity.
Wood, a Christian 11th-grader, alleges that her school required her to write “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah,” as well as subjecting her class to a PowerPoint presentation that promoted Islam over Christianity and in keeping with Islamic precepts, men over women. When Wood’s teacher would not grant her request to opt-out, she refused to take part in the assignment and was punished with a failing grade.
After filing a federal lawsuit on behalf of Wood in 2016 that that both the Federal District Court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against, TMLC is now attempting to take her case to the Supreme Court. The legal organization claims that the school violated the First Amendment Establishment Clause and Wood’s right not to be forced to profess faith in another religion.
TMLC President Richard Thompson sums up a problem that is plaguing public schools nationwide: “Teaching Islam in schools has gone far beyond a basic history lesson . . . Under the guise of teaching history or social studies, public schools across America are promoting the religion of Islam in ways that would never be tolerated for Christianity or any other religion.”
