The proposal to include the traditions of other religious faiths as part of the formal school curriculum must be summarily ignored. The curriculum does not, and has never contained any religious content before, why tamper with it now?
Keysar Trad, president of the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia may want more students to have awareness of Islamic festivals, but fiddling with the curriculum is not the way to go.
As someone of neither Christian nor Muslim faith, I have absolutely no problems with schools acknowledging festivals from different religions and cultures, but that doesn’t mean they have to insert them in the curriculum. And you can’t compare Islamic festivals to Christmas, as Christmas is a holiday celebrated by non-religious as well as religious people.
It is also important to note that after finishing reading about Mr. Trad’s history and long list of controversies on his Wiki page, I am deeply concerned that a man of his reputation is allowed to represent his people, especially under the banner of a “Friendship Association of Australia.”
Topical Teaching 
December 17, 2010 at 12:58 am |
I agree with you that holidays from many faiths and cultures should be acknowledged at school.
I disagree about leaving religion out of the curriculum. Religion exists, and a well-educated person should know about it.
Now, there is a difference between teaching kids about a religion and trying to persuade them to practice a particular religion.
December 17, 2010 at 7:32 pm |
Thank you for your reply renaissanceguy. I appreciate you take on issues and thank you once again for your contributions.