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California College Trustee Attack Islam In Her Opposition To Course Proposal

By Howard Friedman

A trustee of California's College of the Siskiyous has created a furor by a statement she made at a January 15 Board meeting expressing her opposition to a proposed new course in Beginning Arabic and the History of the Middle East. Yesterday's Mt. Shasta News, reports that Dorris Wood, a trustee of the public community college, said in a prepared statement: "

We know all we need to know about Arabs and Islam. They are our enemies pure and simple. There is no getting away from that. They have declared war on the United States and they are committed to our destruction.... Instead of trying to understand our sworn enemies, we need to teach our people about this country. Muslims have over the century invaded other countries and forced their religion by killing, plundering and ravaging. This is nothing new, [this course] is just a new way of invading. They are invading Christian countries of the world from the inside, one method being through our schools and universities.... If you want to give yourselves to Islam, I have no problem with that,you have the right and the freedom to do that, but don't give my country to them.

Faculty and student groups are calling for Wood's resignation.

Full post as published by Religion Clause on January 31, 2008 (boomark / email).