This term, students at Springfield High School will be learning about Islamic culture and beliefs in almost every class they take. The Islam Project encourages teachers throughout the school to include material about Islam in their curricula. According to an SHS press release, this project will culminate with a production of “Othello,” which is Shakespeare’s only play with an Islamic character in a lead role.
Conservative talk show host Lars Larson has a problem with SHS’s
Islam Project.
“Why are we all of a sudden cozying up to Islam? Islamic extremists have been the source of a lot of pain and a lot of death for this country,” Larson said on the air. “That doesn’t mean everyone who believes in Islam is evil, but it does mean that extremist Islam has been the source of terrorism worldwide for the better part of 30 years. So why are we all of a sudden putting it in every single class at Springfield High?”
Before I get into this issue, I should put all my cards on the table. I went to SHS, where I was active in the theater program. During that time I worked closely with Jonathan Siegle, who is the director of the upcoming “Othello” production and the primary target of Larson’s on-air remarks. Siegle was also my writing instructor during my junior year of high school. So on the list of people who have influenced my writing style, he’s easily in the top five (much to his embarrassment I’m sure).
So maybe my bias is showing, but I think Larson is making much ado about nothing by criticizing SHS’s Islam Project.
Making a concerted effort to teach students about another culture challenges them to stretch their minds and think in new ways, which is essential for academic growth. Moreover, it’s great preparation for college, where learning to situate knowledge within a cross-cultural context is essential for success.
I totally agree with Larson that Islamic extremism has been the scourge of the earth for several decades. However, this is exactly why it’s so important for young men and women to learn about Islam. It’s crucial that the next generation of thinkers and leaders learn about how this great religion has been hijacked by a small but dangerous band of lunatics and thieves.
This country is waging a global war on terrorism – a war that I fully support. In any war, you need to be able to tell the good guys from the bad guys. In the war on terrorism, you need to know a little something about Islam in order to do that.
Islamic extremists don’t just kill Christians and Jews. They also kill Muslims, whom they view to be in violation of Islamic law or sympathetic to the West. Also, there are a number of countries in the Middle East where corrupt governments use Islam as a weapon to squelch freedom and
maintain power over millions of
innocent Muslims.
Larson wonders rhetorically why SHS chose to focus on Islam rather than Christianity, Judaism or Buddhism. I think the answer is obvious.
Forget about all the touchy-feely, politically correct reasons why teaching high school students about Islam is a good idea. It’s also an intensely practical course of study because a better understanding of
Islam could enhance many of our foreign and domestic policy decisions in this country.
I was a student at SHS during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. I was on my way to school when I first heard the news. I spent most of that day watching various news channels on the TVs scattered throughout the school. Not long after the attacks, a teacher gave several lectures on the religious politics of the Middle East and how it had spilled over to our shores on an unprecedented scale. The educators at SHS know that knowledge and understanding are crucial in confronting the threat of international terrorism.
The only concern I have about SHS’s Islam Project is that it could raise some separation of church and state issues. However, learning about a religion is not the same as practicing a religion.
When I was a student at SHS, one of my English classes studied the Bible as literature. In this class, I wrote a paper about the book of John and made a short film depicting the Cain and Abel narrative from Genesis. However, at no point did the instructor advance a religious agenda. I expect the SHS teachers participating in the Islam Project will demonstrate the same professionalism.
I also think it’s particularly ingenious to use “Othello” – a great masterpiece of English literature – to provide exposure to Islam. It’s like getting double the cultural bang for your buck.
By coincidence, I visited Siegle just last week and got to see the set of “Othello” in the middle of construction. The setting of the play has been moved from Venice to Iran, with the action primarily taking place in and around a mosque.
These days, it’s common practice to move the setting of Shakespeare’s plays. In fact, keeping Shakespeare in its original setting is now the exception rather than the rule. In the 1930s, when fascism was considered global enemy number one, legendary theater director Orson Welles staged a production of “Julius Caesar” that clearly referenced the dictatorial regimes in Italy and Germany. Using Shakespeare to shed light on contemporary issues is a time-honored tradition in theater.
“Othello” will run through the first two weekends in February. I’ll be there. I think it would be nice if Lars Larson came too; I’ll even buy him a ticket. No matter what you think of the politics behind it, the kids at SHS know how to put on a decent show.
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