In Virginia's Bible Belt, an Arabic Lesson Ignites Anger

This is really unfortunate.  And I can't help but wonder if phrases are being picked to foment the problems.

The school closings came one week after the teacher gave Riverheads High School students an assignment that involved practicing calligraphy and writing a statement in Arabic - the Shahada, a profession of faith recited in Muslims' daily prayers.

The statement translated to: "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." The teacher's lesson was drawn from instructional material that also includes Judeo-Christian assignments.

School officials said the aim of the lesson was to illustrate the complexity of the written Arabic language, not to promote any religious system, and a different sample text will be used in the future.

Of all the phrases to use, they had to pick this one??  For a Christian to write this is almost sacrilegious.  And this isn't the only example of this.

I remember back in the 8th grade I did a poster on the Arabic alphabit.  I think I made a B.

I did a quick look online and discovered some Islamic Proverbs that I think are pretty innocent and probably could have been used.

Here is one:

Guard yoursef from 6 things:

♦ When you speak, speak the truth
♦ Fulfill when you promise
♦ Discharge your trust
♦ Be pure in thought and action
♦ Withold your hand from striking
♦ Withold from talking that which is unlawful and bad

Here's another:

“Sharpen the mind, harden the body, soften the heart, and be of service to others.” – a motto for the believer, by AbdelMalik Ali.

Why the HECK did the teacher have to pick something she/he should have known would be controversial and in-you-face.

I'm afraid the quality of teachers in general is pretty bad.