Arizona School Provides Room for Muslims to Pray | Todd Starnes

More bloviating by Todd Starnes, per usual, he misses the whole point,,,

The Christian cleansing in Orange County Florida stands in stark contrast to the accommodation being given to Muslim students in Tucson Arizona. Television station KVOA reports that Muslims attending Desert View High School have been given access to a room to conduct their prayers during class.

School officials say everything is by the book. That may be the case but do they provide private accommodations for the Catholics to pray? or the Pentecostals?

Versus,,,

"Students are to be permitted to pray or engage in religious activities or expression in the same manner and to the same extent as students are permitted to engage in non-religious activities or expression, before, during and after the school day."

Favela told the News 4 Tucson Investigators, "Our policy is very clear about allowing and accommodating this. It is not a violation in the sense that we are not promoting it. It would be a violation of church and state issues if we were promoting these views."

First the school in Arizona is not promoting or endorsing one specific religion over another as in Florida. When educators (teachers, administrators and staff -volunteer or paid) are in the public schools, they are wearing their government hats. They cannot establish or encourage religion in the classroom or at school sponsored events.

Second, an accommodation is being made, but what Starnes misses, this accommodation is being made to prevent a disruption in normal school functioning. Consider this, would you rather these 4-6 students pull out their prayer rugs, perform whatever ritual(s) necessary, commence with said prayer etc., smack dab in the middle of an ongoing class presentation? Or, would you rather these 4-6 students go to a separate room, just as Christian clubs do at the same public schools?

If anything, what this incident highlight is why religion should not be in public schools at all; the rituals and the magic need to stay at home and/or places of worship.

Arizona School Provides Room for Muslims to Pray | Todd Starnes