MBMS parents protest teaching Islam

By Kathryn Cross
Staff Writer

Judy Diethelm and Keith Johnson, parents of a Manhattan Beach Middle School seventh grader, along with other protesters attended the Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting on Wednesday to advocate to remove doctrinal religious teachings within MBUSD schools.

Diethelm and Johnson’s concern began when their child brought home a worksheet outlining the five pillars of Islam on Sept. 29. According to Johnson, Islam was covered in class for three weeks, while other religions did not receive the same attention.

“His seventh grade class spent three weeks talking about Islam, and a great majority of it was the teachings of the Qu’ran,” Johnson said. “Some of the teachings of the Qu’ran have nothing to do with history.”

Johnson and Diethelm then made an appointment with MBMS Principal John Jackson in order to discuss the issue. According to Johnson, Jackson stated that he was unable to change the state standards that require the teaching of Islamic religion, but he assured that all religions are being taught equally within MBMS throughout the sixth and seventh grade curriculum.

“Federal law trumps the California Board of Education standards,” Johnson said. “The Federal government stated that it is illegal by the Establishment Clause to teach religion unequally. There are 19 major world religions and 270 sub-groups, so it is impossible to spend this amount of time on all religions.”

According to MBUSD Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews, the MBUSD curriculum is in good faith, and state standards cannot be changed because of a sole protest from a single group of people.
“The California Board of Education has heard concerns about Islam, but it will still remain a major component of the curriculum,” Matthews said. “We have an obligation to MBUSD students to educate them about everything so they can try to understand the world today.”