Lodi parents complain that textbook emphasizes Islam

Lodi parents complain that textbook emphasizes Islam
The Associated Press
Article Launched: 10/30/2007 11:53:32 AM PDT

LODI, Calif.—Parents at a Lodi elementary school are complaining about a history textbook they say pays a disproportionate amount of attention to the teachings of Islam.

The seventh-grade book has three chapters about the Islamic faith. It mentions Jesus twice and devotes a paragraph to other major religions, said Jim and Korina Self.

The couple is collecting signatures on a petition asking the local school board to remove the textbook from classrooms.

The book should be used as part of a broader curriculum, said Natasha Martin, a spokeswoman for the Rancho Cordova-based publisher, Teachers' Curriculum Institute.

She and Lodi school officials said the text was approved by the California State Board of Education.

"It is common for parents in the state to raise concerns about the teaching of Islam because they do not know that it is required by the state standards, and they don't understand that all major religions are taught as part of the sixth- and seventh-grade world history courses," Martin said in a statement.

"History Alive!: The Medieval World and Beyond" also drew protests in an Arizona school district. It was withdrawn by the publisher before the end of a trial period there.