In its issue of November 27, 2002, Education Week described the efforts being made by public schools to accommodate the religious needs of Islamic pupils. This includes, in some schools, setting aside a room where students can pray together during school hours and making special arrangements for students who are fasting during Ramadan.
Public schools across the nation, to the extent that their enrollment includes Muslim students, are facing similar issues. In New York City, for example, a number of schools have designated a room in which Muslim students can worship.
As one reads about these accommodations, one is reminded of the Sherlock Holmes story about the dog that didn't bark. In this instance, the dog is the American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU has traditionally been vigilant in taking legal action against any acknowledgement of religion in the public square and, specifically, in the public schools. Civil liberties lawyers have sued to remove all religious activities and symbols from schools and to ensure that they remain resolutely secular.
Thus it is indeed surprising that the ACLU has not voiced a peep about public schools that set aside special prayer rooms for Muslim students. Would they be equally silent if public schools set aside special rooms where Catholic students could say the Rosary, where Protestant students could pray together, or where Jewish students could study the Torah? One hopes that the ACLU will one day soon take a position on the most recent efforts to accommodate religious belief in the public schools.
Diane Ravitch is a Research Professor at New York University and a trustee of the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.
"Schools Adapting to Muslim Holy Month," by Nashiah Ahmad, Education Week, November 27, 2002
