A Virginia teacher's decision to use the shahada – the Islamic profession of faith – in a lesson on Arabic calligraphy prompted such a backlash among teachers and the wider public that school officials canceled classes Friday based on the "tone and content" of the volumes of angry messages they received.
The Augusta County Public Schools posted the following notice on the district's website :
Following parental objections to the World Geography curriculum and ensuing related media coverage, the school division began receiving voluminous phone calls and electronic mail locally and from outside the area. As a result of those communications, the Sheriff's Office and the school division coordinated to increase police presence at Augusta County schools and to monitor those communications.
The closure affected the entire district, which operates 23 schools.
The complaints began rolling in after media coverage prompted by protests from parents over the contents of a lesson in a World Geography class.
The lesson, which was a part of a curriculum that also covers Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Judaism, gave students several examples of Arabic calligraphy, including the shahada – "There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah," and asked them to copy the writing.
Several students refused to complete the assignment, according to the News Leader, and parents complained to the school district over the issue.
"If my truth can not be spoken in schools, I don't want false doctrine spoken in schools. That's what keeps it even across the board," parent Kimberly Herndon said, according to the New Leader. "She gave up the Lord's time. She gave it up and gave it to Mohammed."
NBC29 quoted local school officials as saying that a different, non-religious example of Arabic calligraphy would be used in the future.
The complaints and controversy grew after several media organizations covered the incident, including Fox News, which called it "indoctrination" and also criticized the fact that female students were invited to try on "Muslim" clothing – a head scarf.