'Radical' and 'brutal': Texas curriculum to change how Islam is portrayed

'Radical' and 'brutal': Texas curriculum to change how Islam is portrayed Submitted by MEE staff on Wed, 09/09/2026 - 16:20 The move follows vehement anti-Muslim rhetoric and action from Governor Greg Abbott Students hold a protest against Customs and Immigration Enforcement policies outside their school on 6 February 2026 in Austin, Texas (Brandon Bell/Getty Images via AFP) Off The Texas State Board of Education greenlit a new social studies curriculum on Friday that will teach high school students about how Islam is "radical" and "brutal".

The move followed several hours of testimony by hundreds of people before the Republican-dominated board made its 8-4 decision about how to amend the way religions are taught across public schools in the state.

The new curriculum will affect some five million students.

Starting in the 2030-2031 school year, when the textbooks are phased in, the focus will shift to making Bible passages required reading, highlighting Christianity's positive attributes, and referring to early Islam's military campaigns as "brutal" despite not using the same term to describe wars waged by Christians.

Teaching early Islam will be specifically framed through a lens of slavery and female captivity, the Fox4 Dallas-Fort Worth news channel reported.

The attacks of 11 September 2001, carried out by Saudi hijackers and largely planned by al-Qaeda, will be taught as motivated by "radical Islam" rather than political causes or agendas. Critics slammed the decision.

"Selective history is not education. Texas students deserve history that is accurate, complete, and fair," Salman Bhojani, a Muslim lawmaker in the state house, wrote on X ahead of the vote last week.

The Council on American Islamic Relations (Cair), the country's largest Muslim civil rights organisation, led the pushback against the new curriculum.

"For the record, no one asked the Texas State Board of Education to censor history," the group wrote on X ahead of the vote. "Public schools should teach history, including the history of global religions.

What public schools should not do is force teachers and students to single out and denigrate a particular religion, in this case Islam," Cair said.

"We would object just as strongly if a state wanted to force teachers to tell students that Christianity itself is responsible for the genocide of indigenous populations, or the burning of witches, or the mass enslavement and forced conversion of kidnapped Africans, or the cross-burnings of the KKK, or the bombing of abortion clinics.

" But Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who has long been vocal about his anti-Islam position, said Texas "students deserve to know the truth about Islam", in a post on X.

The US Constitution maintains that the US has no official state religion and that church and state functions must be separate.

Concerted effort The decision was not so surprising, given several moves by the Republican Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, against any manner of accommodation for the state's sizeable and fast-growing Muslim population.

Last month the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport cancelled a project to install an ablution station that could be used by Muslims before they go through the international terminal's airport security.

Texas governor designates Muslim Brotherhood, Cair as terror organisations Read More » This followed a threat by Abbott to withhold state grants from airports taking part in any similar projects.

Airports in the US are typically state-run in the pre-security section open to the public and federally run in the post-security section, which is exclusively for ticket-holding travellers.

Last year, Abbott pushed for a federal investigation into a Muslim housing development just outside of Dallas when he posted on X: "Sharia law is not allowed in Texas.

" His post came shortly after Amy Mekelburg, a far-right agitator known for spreading anti-Muslim disinformation, falsely labelled the proposed development a "Sharia City".

Abbott amplified the message, characterising Muslim families building homes as a threat. The East Plano Islamic Community, now called The Meadow, is designed to have 1,000 homes as well as a mosque and school.

In May, a Texas judge backed the Muslim developers and said the state must honour previously signed contracts.

Also last year, Abbott designated Cair as well as the Muslim Brotherhood as both foreign terrorist organisations and transnational criminal organisations.

As a result, both groups would be barred "from purchasing or acquiring land" in the state of Texas, Abbott said. The proclamation gives the state's attorney general leeway to sue the groups accordingly.

Cair has denied and rebuked the allegations, and the Muslim Brotherhood is not a US-based entity, nor does it have a specific headquarters anywhere.

US Muslims News Post Date Override 0 Update Date Mon, 05/04/2020 - 21:19 Update Date Override 0