Texas Advances Controversial Social Studies Curriculum Despite Protests Over Portrayal of Islam

The State Board of Education gave preliminary approval to new social studies learning standards, despite hours of testimony from Muslim students, parents and advocates, who urged leaders to reconsider.

Almost every mention of Islam in the drafted curriculum connected it to slavery, conquest, or conflict, according to a review by The Dallas Morning News. An effort to include Muslim contributions to math and science previously failed.

One learning standard, in particular, drew scrutiny from the public Monday — and heated debate among members Tuesday. It would require students to study Prophet Muhammad’s “brutal military campaigns against Jewish and Christian tribes, the normalization of slavery, and the taking of female captives as harem slaves.”

Rebecca Bell-Metereau, D-San Marcos, worried it was a “prejudicial portrayal” of Islam, pointing out that other religions in the curriculum did not similarly invoke sexual violence.

Board members considered changing the standard. Per a proposal, students would, instead, “explain the origins and early spread of Islam,” the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad, and the “role of conquest in the growth of the early Islamic empire.”

Andrea Hutchison, an adviser on the curriculum, said this approach would teach the religion in a more “accurate and neutral” way. But Brandon Hall, R-Aledo, opposed the change, saying it’s exactly what a “foreign terrorist organization” would want.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, has been an outspoken critic of the curriculum, calling it hateful and biased. Gov. Greg Abbott designated CAIR as a terrorist group last year.

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The final vote on high school courses is expected Friday.