From A Muslim Student

Submitted by Mysh (United States), Feb 28, 2008 at 10:49

I am a Muslim student in the American public education system, and I've been encouraged to do several of these things by my family, friends and Muslim peers. For example, most Muslim kids miss their prayers at school (which they make up after going home, but not being able to pray at the right time regularly isn't a great thing) so a lot of my elderly family members have suggested that I go to the principal and/or other administrators and ask for time out of class to go pray during the school day. I never did this, because I researched the school policy which said only 5 minutes were allowed before the school day began for religious activities.

I didn't push the matter any further once I knew school policy.

Basically, what I'm trying to say is that if you see these sorts of things happen in your area, don't just immediately assume that it's a PR effort on the part of radical Muslim extremists (or however many labels are given to them these days). In the example above, my family members just wanted me to pray at the right time if I could. Qur'an study groups and that sort of thing may just be a way for Muslim students to get together when they may not see each other otherwise. And as far as including Islamic dates on calendars goes, I've looked into the matter and have found that most school districts are aware of it anyways -- they just don't place a ton of importance on it because it only affects a few people in most cases.

Not all Muslims agree with all the things that this 'da'wa' policy encourages. I, for one, find a lot of it ludicrous. So don't judge all Muslims and Islam-related efforts on this... but do be aware that this sort of thing is around.

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