OPINION (CBN) – Four years ago, a Christian high school junior was compelled by her teacher at La Plata High School in La Plata, Md., to recall the Islamic conversion creed – the Shahada – as part of a written assignment. She was required to write the Islamic conversion creed, “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” The World History course also taught that “Most Muslims’ faith is stronger than the average Christian’s.” Caleigh Wood refused to complete the assignment, believing that is it is a sin to profess by word or in writing, that there is any other god except the Christian God.
School officials refused to let her opt out of the course and as a result, she received a lower percentage grade for the course, but that did not affect her letter grade. The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC) on behalf of the Wood family filed a lawsuit, claiming the school had violated the First Amendment Establishment Clause and the girl’s right not to be forced to profess faith in another religion. Both the Federal District Court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the high school’s Islamic curriculum. READ MORE
