Children at Lantern Road Elementary School in central Indiana were set to sing "Allah is God", in their 'all-inclusive' holiday production, until the reference was removed after much hoopla. What Christians took offense to was the fact that "Allah" was the only deity mentioned throughout the programme. So some parents, with the help of American Family Association (AFA), lobbied for its removal. This, naturally, offended the Muslim Alliance of Indiana:
Siddiqi's anger would be totally justified if the school had altogether removed the Muslim section of the show- which included Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas and Ramadan- which it did not. And I think no-one would have had any problems with a song mentioning 'Allah', if they had mentioned 'Jesus' during the Christmas portion of the programme, which they did not.
“It’s unfortunate if that was removed from the program just because of Islamophobic feelings,” Shariq Siddiqui told the Indianapolis Star. “Schools are a place where we should learn more about each other rather than exclude each other based on stereotypes and misconceptions.”
Siddiqi's anger would be totally justified if the school had altogether removed the Muslim section of the show- which included Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas and Ramadan- which it did not. And I think no-one would have had any problems with a song mentioning 'Allah', if they had mentioned 'Jesus' during the Christmas portion of the programme, which they did not.
The principal of the school stated that the holiday production was a means of teaching inclusiveness to the children, which is a wonderful concept, as long as you are being inclusive. I have no problem with inclusiveness. Celebrating and learning about other people's cultures and religions teaches us respect and tolerance of others. But singing:
That's not quite equitable. Micah Clarke of the Indiana AFA had this to say of the inequity
"Allah is God, we recall at dawn,
Praying ‘til night during Ramadan
At this joyful time we pray happiness for you,
Allah be with you all your life through.”
and then
“I didn’t know there was a little boy at the manger. What child is this?
“I didn’t know there was a little boy at the manger. What child is this?
I’m not sure if there was a little boy or not.
Then why did you paint one on your nativity window?
I just thought if there was a little boy, I’d like to know exactly what he (sic) say.”
That's not quite equitable. Micah Clarke of the Indiana AFA had this to say of the inequity
“(This show) affirmed Islam and negated Christianity. I wouldn’t have had a problem if it had been equal to all faiths.”
Which is what it all boils down to. Had there been any mention of Jesus which is what Christmas is all about, I don't think there would have been any problems.
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