Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Arizona

Re: Seperation of Church and State

Probably not, and for good reason.

Unless there is more to the story than you are telling (and you sound like you are motivated to tell as much as you know), I don't see a problem. Inviting the cleric "to talk about Islam and their beliefs" is an educational function and not a religious one.

If the cleric tried to teach them to *accept* the teachings of Islam there would be a problem, but if all he did was explain to them what Muslims believe then he was not performing a religious function.

Imagine a minister or priest going to a predominantly Muslim school to tell the children about Christianity. He could tell them that Christians *believe* Jesus was the son of God and that he died on the cross to cleanse mankind of its sins, or he could tell them that Jesus actually *was* the son of God and that their souls can only be redeemed if they accept him as their savior. In the first example he would be educating them and in the second he would be indoctrinating them. There is a difference.

You have every right to insist that the schools not help other religions indoctrinate your children with beliefs you do not share, but to consider legal action if they are merely taught what those beliefs are is a very different matter.

Make sure you know what really happened before you leap to conclusions. And if you think that the schools have a duty to keep your child ignorant about a religion which shapes the lives of a billion of our fellow men and women, then perhaps you would benefit from some serious conversation with your own clergyman.