A local high school drew sharp criticism and scrutiny last week for allowing a Christian evangelist to speak and distribute anti-Islamic literature to students.
Kamil Solomon, a Raleigh-based evangelist, spoke last Friday to Robert Escamilla's social studies classes at Enloe High School-a Wake County magnet school for talented and gifted students-about what he said were the dangers of Islam.
"It was... quite shocking because Enloe is usually the kind of school where everything is accepted and no one belief is held above another," Alyssa Kaszycki, a freshman in Escamilla's class, wrote in an e-mail. "The whole presentation went against everything Enloe stands for and tries to teach."
During his presentation, Solomon also distributed pamphlets outlining alleged falsehoods in the religion and advising girls to avoid forming relationships with Muslim men.
"[A Muslim man] may be especially attractive because of his dark good looks, education, financial means and the interest he shows in you," one pamphlet entitled "Do Not Marry a Muslim Man, Part I" stated. "But do not be fooled and become a victim of his religion, Islam, which has very oppressive rules regarding women's status and rights."
Another pamphlet called "Jesus Not Muhammad" labeled the Islamic Prophet "a criminal," "demon-possessed" and "inspired by Satan."
Solomon then proceeded to show a PowerPoint presentation relating violent scenes of terrorist attacks on Islam and the Muslim community, Kaszycki said.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations, a national advocacy group, learned of the incident from a parent of an Enloe student, CAIR Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper said.
"It is unconscionable for a teacher at any public school to abuse his or her position of trust by forcing such hate-filled, inaccurate and intolerant materials on students," wrote Arsalan Iftikhar, national legal director for CAIR, in a letter to Adelphos Burns, superintendent of the Wake County Public School System Wednesday.
CAIR called for an apology from the school, disciplinary action against Escamilla and a review of the school's policy allowing outside speakers to come into the classroom.
"We're going to take the accusations seriously," WCPSS spokesperson Michael Evans told The Raleigh News and Observer. "It is part of our ongoing investigation. We need to ascertain what happened and what comments were made."
Escamilla and Enloe principal Beth Cochran declined to comment.
"So far we've heard... that the teacher is maintaining his position and saying that this falls under free speech," Hooper said.
Other Muslim advocacy organizations as well as outside observers have joined in reprimanding the school for its actions.
"It is unanimous the community does not like proselytizing in schools," said Khodr Zaarour, director of political affairs for the Muslim American Public Affairs Council. "This is totally unacceptable and possibly illegal."
Senior Sayed Zaman, president of the Muslim Student Association at Duke, said he believes this kind of rhetoric is indicative of a wider misconception about Muslim Americans in the United States.
"I feel like especially with recent current events that there's an underlying trepidation about Muslims and Islam in America," he said.
Solomon's speech is also dangerous in that it fails to make the distinction between Islam and Islamic extremism, Bruce Lawrence, professor of religion and director of the Duke Islamic Studies Center, wrote in an e-mail.
"It crosses the line between freedom of speech and freedom of religion into the realm of hate speech and incitement to hate crimes," he said.
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