This week, I’ve decided to discuss a scenario that I first stumbled upon a few months ago. The reason for the delay? In school I’ve been learning a lot about Islam lately, and this article discussed an ethical dilemma that is very much at the core of Islamic and Muslim influences and how they are treated in schools.
The article is about a school in Kansas that happened to
have an interesting decoration hanging on its walls on the first day of school.
In the main hallway, the school had displayed a paper cut out graphic of the
five pillars of Islam, the foundational rules of the Muslim faith. Displaying
the Five Pillars is unusual in a school setting, let alone in Kansas which is
hardly home to a large Muslim population. Soon enough, pictures of the
Pillars made it to the internet, and parents and conservatives stirred up a
huge controversy about the display. The school eventually chose to take down
the decoration, which presents us with this week’s ethical dilemma.
Of course, the ethical issues with this situation are whether
or not the school should have put the Five Pillars display up in the first place as well as
whether or not they should have removed it. Those who claim that the display should
never have been up in the first place may claim that this is strictly an issue
of secularism in schools, but I see this as a particularly Islam-based controversy. The Kansas school has several other religious displays
up around the school, including a large painting of the Last Supper, which have never been disputed. This is beyond
a religion-in-schools ethical scenario, it is a specifically Islamic based one.
Proponents of the display claim that learning about world religions is a part of the overall school curriculum, and that the Pillars display was not meant to endorse Islam to its students. They also cite the Last Supper painting and point out that a display of the Five Pillars should be no more controversial. The school claims that it is not trying to convert any students to Islam, ad the students stand to greatly benefit from an exposure to multiple religions and the cultures surrounding them.
Those who oppose the display argue that it is unethical to expose students to the display because it may make students uncomfortable. Religions is a uniquely controversial subject for good reason; it is at the core of many people's values and beliefs. There may be students who walk into school on the first day and feel that the Five Pillars display threatens their beliefs. Furthermore, the student's parents may feel that the display conflicts with everything they have tried to teach their children, and may not appreciate a school exposing their children to these influences.
The Kansas school took down the Five Pillars display after to internet controversy, but claims that it intends to re-post the display when the school covers the Islam unit of its world religions curriculum later in the year. Do you guys think this is the right decision?
Proponents of the display claim that learning about world religions is a part of the overall school curriculum, and that the Pillars display was not meant to endorse Islam to its students. They also cite the Last Supper painting and point out that a display of the Five Pillars should be no more controversial. The school claims that it is not trying to convert any students to Islam, ad the students stand to greatly benefit from an exposure to multiple religions and the cultures surrounding them.
Those who oppose the display argue that it is unethical to expose students to the display because it may make students uncomfortable. Religions is a uniquely controversial subject for good reason; it is at the core of many people's values and beliefs. There may be students who walk into school on the first day and feel that the Five Pillars display threatens their beliefs. Furthermore, the student's parents may feel that the display conflicts with everything they have tried to teach their children, and may not appreciate a school exposing their children to these influences.
The Kansas school took down the Five Pillars display after to internet controversy, but claims that it intends to re-post the display when the school covers the Islam unit of its world religions curriculum later in the year. Do you guys think this is the right decision?
