I would rather see religious practices kept out of regular school days altogether, in order to avoid accusations of favoritism or pressuring those who don’t belong to any faith grouping at all..
That’s not to say that Christmas pageants could not be used to educate all children about Christiani practicws or a presesentation about Jewish or Muslim holidays could not do the same. Familiarity with a variety of cultures and religions can only enrich.

The special problem presented by Muslim children rises from their requitements for specific prayer times. Orthodox Jews also pray at designated times, but they have mosty responded by sending their children to yeshivas. In contrast, Christians can pray at any time, so they have fewer conflicts with class schefuling.

Common sense is sorely missing from the debates about religion and schcools It’s only a common sense approach that will be able to resolve this situation, however.

The ACLU, by pursuing extreme positions causes a lot of resentment and IMO unnecessary strife. I would note that their cases concerning religious matters are not strictly anti-Christian. They have (or still may be) defended Evangelicals who are barred by local ordinances from preaching in certain areas pf Las Vegas, for example.
The ACLU could also ue a good dose of common sense in their legal battles, Because they tread into controversial areas without moderation, they often cause more problems than they solve. They are not the devil, however, and can oftem be respected for defending those whom no one else would defend.

Muslim activists had called on Pace University to crack down on hate crimes after the incidents. As a result, the university said it would offer sensitivity training to its students.

WE are terrified of the Muslims. Lets face it. We all are. I wonder how many of you fear Christians the same way you fear Muslims.??

When you dig thru all the double talk. The right thing to do talk. The fair thing to do talk. The Bottom line is:

We are afraid of Muslims and their religion.

Period.

You know you would be laughing and shaking your head in disbelief if we replaced the Koran with the Bible and the “Muslim” with “Christian” in this story.

Further, there indeed seems to be a reflexive move to a much more accommodating attitude with regards to Muslims, not only in schools, but in places that are devoid of any religious connection.

I personally have no problem with the free practice of religion. However, I would rather see public schools separated from any religious activity, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Wiccan, whatever.

And the fact that the (rather odious) FRC has been agitating for accommodation doesn’t really negate the feeling that Muslims might be getting special treatment. Some of us don’t want any religion accommodated in public. That’s not anti-Muslim or anti-religion, but a fair, rational solution to the issue of religious plurality.

But when the ACLU seems to be employing a double standard, it doesn’t really bolster it’s standing. (Disclosure: I am a supporter of the ACLU, but like everything, don’t always agree with everything the group does).

1938 Detroit KKK – Absolutely under no circumstances should we accommodate muslimsJews.
Hank Greenberg threatens to break Babes homer record.

1920′s America – Absolutely under no circumstances should we accommodate muslimsCatholics.

Laura your tolerance is quite impressive.(LOL)

Beyond a certain point, the religious will have to do some accomodating of their own, it seems to me. Where that point is, I have no clear idea. But a school calendar is a school calendar and a class schedule is a class schedule – for everyone. Permitted abseteeism should require some make-up work, at least.

I tend to agree with you, David, on the issue. In general any accommodation made for Christians should be made for any other religious people as long as they are numerous enough. It’s unfortunate that Muslim faith requires 5 prayers a day, but a public school couldn’t specifically adapt to that without compromising the non-endorsement of religion. Friday is also the Muslim holy day, but students must still attend school.

off topic: The google ads are involuntarily hilarious sometimes, this is the one this thread links to:

How to Convert to Islam
How to convert and become a Muslim with Live Help through 1-to-1 chat
http://www.IslamReligion.com

In fact, one would think that people who care about the same things the frc does would want the muslims to get this stuff so they later could argue the fairness aspect, of “prayer for thee” and and all.