Prominent Christianist Gary Bauer suggests in this editorial that US textbooks are flummoxed by political correctness in their portrayal of Islam, and that publishers are ‘whitewashing Islam.’
Bauer would want to see textbooks take a tougher line, given as how he sits on the executive committee of Christians United for Israel (CUFI), a Christian Zionist advocacy organization that promotes the idea that Christians “have a biblical obligation to defend Israel.”
One of the themes at the 2007 CUFI conference (whose attendees included Santorum, Delay, Lieberman, and Gingrich) was the threat of Islam and—in an appropriation of the language of fear promoted by neoconservative writers like David Horowitz and Daniel Pipes—“Islamofascism.” “The lure of a sympathetic crowd and the chance to trade pieties with the most popular televangelists in the nation attracted Sen. Joe Lieberman and ex-senator Rick Santorum,” the American Conservative reported. “Each preached to the converted: Islamic-fascism is the most dangerous threat facing the United States, and Israel is the frontline.”’
In the editorial linked above, Bauer has pulled in his claws somewhat as he is engaged in advocacy to a general public that is more indifferent than sympathetic, but there is no doubt his agenda continues to be enemy-formation and war-mongering against Muslims.
razib 12:36 pm on May 8, 2009 Permalink |
remember that textbook content decisions are often strongly political. i remember as a child reading textbooks and hearing lesson plans where christians, muslims and jews believed in the same god, but hindu and native american faiths had “mythologies.”
thabet 4:37 am on May 9, 2009 Permalink |
How does Gary Bauer want American expansion to be taught?