In a Friday vote, the Texas Board of Education agreed to warn publishers to eliminate the pro-Islam, anti-Christian bias that the board's conservative, evangelical members say has crept into history textbooks. As an example of past "distortions," the resolution points to a world history book that describes atrocities committed by Christian crusaders while ignoring similar atrocities by Muslim fighters. Is the board, which has already pushed to make Texas schools more friendly to conservative views, just trying to make textbooks more accurate, or are they politicizing education? (Watch the heated debate)
This is pure, anti-Islamic fear-mongering: The members of the evangelical ruling bloc on the Texas school board never tire of "making spectacles of themselves," say the editors of the Austin American-Statesman. This resolution will accomplish nothing, except stirring "anti-Islamic sentiment that conservatives see as politically advantageous."
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