Recently, several Gainesville, Florida students were sent home from school to change their clothes. The students had arrived at school wearing T-shirts with"Islam is of the Devil" inscribed on the back. The shirts had been distributed by a local church, the Dove World Outreach Center, as part of a campaign to expose Islam as a "violent and oppressive religion".
Do you believe the school should have had the right to wear these shirts in school? Why or why not? In "Bashing Islam: A Dangerous Sign of the Times", Charles C. Haynes of the First Amendment Center argues that this incident is one example of a larger trend of anti-Islam rhetoric, "a dangerous sign of the times". Do you agree or disagree with Haynes? Explain.
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50 comments:
no... no... no... why...
ok
heres the scenarios
we let these kids wear "islam is the devil" T-shirts
some islamic group is bound to react and respond with "preists molest small children" apparel. after that, it will be legal for any kind of T-shirt no matter how offensive to be worn as long as it bashes a religon. there will be lawsuits, fights, slander, a new batch of episodes of the maury show (shudder) and all to allow intolerance to be tolerated and ignorance to be acceptable.
or.
you can keep your opinions to yourself and impose your ignorant preachings and views only to those who willingly accept it in places that willingly allow it.
and the world keeps turning...
I definitely think is wrong to where the t-shirts not only for the kids but also for the people who sold them. Even though there is the first amendment to think you shouldnt be slandering people straight to their face. I agree with haynes becauseif where were no one cares about others religon where are we going to be 10 years from now.
Constitutionally they have every right to wear anything they want. Morally, I belief that they should not be allowed to wear them. The t-shirts are way too offensive and slanderous. I believe that having slanderous things on an article of clothing should be against the dress code and if it is in the dress code then the school had every right to send them home. A school is not a place to put hate messages. If they were anywhere else it would still be wrong but they would have every right to wear the t shirts.
I appreciate the thoughtful and insightful comments about my column. Although I agree with those who say students have freedom to exercise their First Amendment rights in public schools, I also agree with the Supreme Court's limitations on that freedom. Public schools are not the public park -- and the rights of students are not co-extensive with the rights of adults. The Court (in Tinker) draws the line at student speech that could be shown to cause a "substantial disruption." I think this t-shirt would, indeed, cause a substantial disruption, especially in a district with Muslim students. I also agree with those who argue that wearing the shirt is the wrong thing to do -- even if it were legal. Finally, I agree that this issue should not be hidden under a First Amendment rug. Schools have an obligation to encourage civil discussion about the growing tensions between Islam and the West -- and the growing challenges of religious diversity in Europe and the U.S. That's one reason I think all public school students should take a course in world religions. Best wishes, Charles Haynes
Seeing as our 1st amendment right is restricted as we enter school grounds the Kids wearing them should not be wearing them in school. Also if they believe such things they should not be putting around the whole school. Yes we are all entitled to our own opinions but going and bashing someone's religion is wrong and will get you into trouble with lots of people, not just the Islamic population at your school. We should still care about the feelings of other individuals even if we don't agree with the religion they practice.
Although the First Amendment does protect freedom of speech there are limitations, especially when the message becomes hateful and slanderous. I think that the students wearing the tee shirts and the organization that put them into circualtion did so in extremely poor taste and ought to be ashamed of their hyper-aggressive behavior.
I do, however, feel very strongly that preventing these students from wearing their shirts in the public school setting only shuts down a symptom of a larger issue: why these students feel the way they do. In addition to taking action against the wearing of anti-Islam shirts I think the Gainesville community ought to focus on breaking down the fear that is behind much of anti-Islam sentiments and work towards education and reconciliation.
The first amendment protects the freedom of speech and the freedom religion. Although the students do have these rights, I do not think that they should express their views in such a vulgar way in the school system. I believe that the students should assemble in a different matter and away from younger children. I agree with Haynes.
Students should not be allowed to wear the shirts. Although the first amendment protects freedom of speech the situation at schools is much different. Some students could find these shirts extremely offensive and tell their parents, then parents get angry, and then the school has to deal with a whole lot of crazy. Students should find different ways to express their religious views.
I can see both sides to this argument. I think that the people have the right to express their opinions. However, I also think that the students can express their opinions outside of the school, and the school definitely has the right to declare what is appropriate attire for school. I think that the students wearing these t-shirts could start a potentially dangerous conflict, and schools should not be responsible for this kind of behavior. I also agree with Haynes, that this is "a dangerous sign of the times." I believe this because it is not good that people are criticizing other individuals' religion. People are entitled to believe whatever they want to, and no one should judge the other based on their beliefs.
I have mixed feelings about the whole situation. On one hand, I firmly believe that everyone should be allowed to freely express their opinions. On the other hand, I find it offensive and excessive the lengths these students took to do so. The First Amendment gives the freedom of religion. The students were clearly exercising this right, but at the same time infringing upon the rights of others. Schools are learning environments and should not be transformed into breeding grounds for hatred.
I agree with Charles Haynes. Religion is and always has been a touchy subject. The Crusades are long over though and the anti-Islam crap needs to end. This competition to see who has the better religion is never going to end. All it will achieve is spreading more ignorance and intolerance.
Although I understand how it would be considered under the students first ammendemnt rights to wear the T-shirts because it is an expression of their beliefs, the shirts are very rude and biased about the other religion, and I would consider them to be a form of bullying when worn at school. Some things are innapropriate to wear to school, and accepting the t-shirts as tolerable would be the acceptance that it is okay for one person to say that they are better than another because of religon, or for any other reason. We all have differences but to exploit them on a t-shirt is innapropriate, especially in a degrading manner. I think Mr. Haynes made the right decision by sending the students home. Such t-shirts should not be allowed at school, they will start commotion, and like their intended to do, effect the Islamic Students. Religion is a personal choice, and by insulting that you are insulting the person personally. It is important to recolgnize such instances, and to acknowlegde, that everyone deserves their own opinion, it should not be used to demean others.
I find that the underlying problem in this situation has nothing to do with the choices the individual children made when selecting their clothing, but in the decisions (conscious and not) made by today's society as a whole. It is only the festering of intolerance that would allow a church to hand out hateful shirts such as the anti-Islamic ones in this situation. Through a more comprehensive study of religion (which I think each student should be encouraged to take, as well,) and the end of media stories that rearrange the truth, so to speak, problems such as these children wearing such mean t-shirts would not be such an issue. It is only through ignorance that intolerance survives in culture.
That being said, I do think it was right for the students to have to change their shirts. However, I think the school should have went the extra step in beginning a program to promote tolerance (if not acceptance) of not only other religions but races, ethnic groups, genders, sexualities, and people as a whole.
The Constitution gives Americans the freedom to religion and free speech. The Tinker vs. Des Moines Supreme Court Case helped establish what kind of student protests were constitutional in a school environment. However most school dress codes forbid any clothing that includes inappropriate or degrading words or pictures. I think the shirts displaying "Islam is of the Devil" are without a doubt, degrading towards Muslims.
The school was right to send these students home to change. Bashing Islam is not a freedom of religion, it would be different if the students were wearing shirts representing their church or their faith.
I agree with Haynes that this is "a dangerous sign of the times". The fact that this church is encouraging the idea that Islam is a "violent and oppressive religion" is disturbing. The ignorance in this is unbelievable. People are free to practice whatever religion they would like, so frankly, this church is discouraging others from practicing Islam, which is against the Constitution.
People are entitled to free speech, giving the church the right to hold a campaign to discourage Islam. "All men are created equal", which includes equal treatment regarding race AND religion.
The students, for better or for worse, do not have the right of free speech while on school grounds. The school is justified in not allowing students to wear the shirts.
Charles Haynes is absolutely correct in saying anti-Islamic sentiment is growing in America. Ever since the 9/11 attacks, many in the United States associate Islam with terror and social oppression. It is a shame that some people are ignorant, but one of the reasons we study comparative religions is so we will not be ignorant.
According to the Constititution, each indivuidual is granted Freedom of speech by the Frist Amendment. However,the First Amendment is prohbitied in some conditions. Prime example; school. On school grounds, a students freedom of speech is taken away due to what affect it may have on other students. School should be a safe and comforting environment for students to learn, not an environment for students to be oppressed and critized by others. Without a doubt, those students had every right to be sent home. This kind of behavior would have caused commotion and students of the Islamic religion, would have found this offensive. With that being said, I agree with Charles C. Haynes 100 percent in saying the rise of anti-islamic is growing in our country. What should we do to decrease such behavior? Develop classes like Comparative Religions, so people will not be ignorant and commit such acts.
Although I do believe that freedom of speech is extremely important in schools, I also believe that schools should not condone any sort of discrimination, racial or religious. Therefore, I agree with the school's decision to not allow the children to wear the offensive shirts.
I also agree with Haynes that this violent and discriminatory response to Muslims is a dangerous trend. Since there have been so many recent terrorism scares associated with Muslims, many people have begun to ostracize and discriminate against Muslims and society has actually encouraged and condoned this. This is a very dangerous trend because by lumping all Muslims into the category of terrorists, Muslims are becoming dehumanized and are therefore easier to attack.
The first amendment does state freedom of religion and people can practice whatever they want. But it's different to wear something in school than in public. It's the school's responsiblity to respect students. I believe that the school acted the right way, because it must of caused Ismalic students feel unconformated as other students wore insulting shirts against their religion. I don't think Haynes is wrong because he is stating his opion, but due to the fact that the shirts say "Islam is of the Devil, it doesn promote anti-Islam. I think students should be more aware of what they wear to school.
I believe that while the first amendment should be respected, the school was completely appropriate in their actions. While these students may wear whatever they like when out in public, the school has to protect its students from discriminatory behavior like this. If the school had allowed these students to wear their shirts, it would have been giving the idea to other students that discrimination like this is okay. I agree with Haynes completely. With all the recent news about Muslims and the terrorist outbursts associated with them, there is definitely much discrimination against them. The school was right in making them change . It will set a good example.
I think constitutionally the students might've had the right to wear the shirt, but I agree with the school sending them home. I think Haynes is right that anti-Islam feelings are getting out of hand and schools at least should try not to support closed-minded or offensive views. I don't think schools have the right to ban political statements through clothing, but religious statements could feel very offensive and personal to some students. I definitely think the school was right to not tolerate anti-Islam messages, prejudice really doesn't have a place in schools.
I agree with Haynes. These shirts are examples of how deep-rooted the stereotypes about Islam are. I really don't think that the students should be allowed to wear those shirts to school. If we're not allowed to wear something that advertises drugs or alcohol then why should students be allowed to criminalize a religion? But Haynes is completely right when he says that "this incident is one example of a larger trend of anti-Islam rhetoric." It sound horrible but unfortunately its the truth.
I think they should be allowed to wear the shirts because the first ammendment allows them too, or at least it should. Although I do think it is very close to crossing a thin line. I also believe that if I were a very religious follower of Islam, I wouldn't be dismayed about petty attempts to bring some one down such as these.
According to the constitution, those students should be allowed to wear any type of shirt and express their beliefs freely. Although they are allowed to do it, in this situation, I agree with the school. Those shirts were slandering the Islamic culture. I myself don't know much about the Islamic culture and if someone wore that t-shirt at our school I wouldn't really know that it was wrong or right and I would probably get a bad image towards Islam. The t-shirts would harm everyone, not only the students of that culture.
I agree with Hayes. It is a dangerous thing that people are beginning to be so against the Islamic culture they are making shirts like this. It shows how passionate people are towards anti-Islam. This is probably there small starting step and you never know what they're going to do next.
The kids have every right to wear a shirt like this.
However, schools generally don't stand for bigotry, so they have and should have the right to have the kids change their shirt or send them home. Generalizations and stereotypes should not be supported.
Morally, I think it's wrong, but people get offended too easily.
Like most people that have commented, I feel that the 1st Amendment does protect people from wearing shirts with messages like these. But, when you think about school, there's another realm of rules to abide by. At our school, "clothing or items...making negative references regarding race, ethnic
origin, religious affiliation" are not acceptable. So, in essence, our school has a similar policy to the one in Florida. So I personally don't think they should be able to wear such things at school, and I don't think they have the right to. I believe the school has the right to make them change.
I do agree with Haynes, that this is just the beginning of anti-Islamic beliefs. The fact that these high school students are wearing these materials, and agreeing or believing in them is unbelievable. It makes you wonder how the anti-Islam rhetoric has trickled all the way down to students, and what that means for America.
i believe the students can wear those shirts, but not in school. school is meant to be a learning environment and has its own regulations about what its students can wear. if the school believes a piece of clothing is unfit, they have the right to have the student change.
in general, people should have the right to wear or say what they believe. they must just have knowledge that others will judge them accordingly, and if they can't live with being insulted for insulting others, then they shouldn't insult a person or group of people at all.
The first amendment protects all Americans to express what they want, it has been stated in the past that the first amendment doesn't apply to students in a school setting.
In a school setting wearing offensive clothing is not appropriate to that extent.
If this was outside of school, they have every right to wear those kinds of shirts. I have faith in the average American that they would render them as idiots and xenophobes.
In these times of living in constant fear of "terrorism" I am not surprised to see such an act.
Unfortunately, under the law shirts like these can be worn in public. But the school has the right to deem some items not appropriate for school. The shirts described could instigate violence and controversy among the student body, and in the school environment this isn't safe.
Personally I think that anybody who would wear a shirt like that is uneducated and obnoxious. But symbols that insight violence, like the swastika and confederate flag, are covered under the first amendment. As are shirts and other printed items. So in the general public, it would be legal for these shirts to be worn. In a school, the administration has every right to remove them
Even though i believe that freedom of speech is very important, i don't think it's necessary if you're going to bash someone else's beliefs, and then publicize it. Some things can be kept to yourself, and this is one of them.
As kids, we like to express ourselves in different ways. Through our attitude, music, or the way we dress. I just don't think its ok that someone would feel the need to bash someone else's religion.
Like mostly everyone else, I agree with Charles C. Haynes. I do believe people have the right to freedom of speech like the first amendment, and have the right to express these feelings, but in a more healthy outlet. Rather than creating hateful t-shirts and advertising their opinion, they could make a discussion group to explain why they have these feelings. Although they do have the right to express these feelings, the school is not an appropriate place to do so.
Many people blow things like this out of the water. Although it is wrong to wear this junk they have the shirts and wear them as their freedom to say as they please. I don't agree with them wearing them and do think it is really immature and harsh but people wear shirts with harsh things and terms on them all the time. I say stop wasting your time on these stupid filler stories in the news and pay attention to more important things in the news like uhhhh... maby the monkey that can do a hand stand eat a banana and drink a soda. I think that would be a way better use of time then reading this junk about some college that shares all the same problems with the other 50000 schools in the US.
If you don't understand what im getting at is that this is a total waste of a story in the news and i couldn't keep count of how many of these stories hit the news in all the small towns out there it just happened this hit the main stream. I say turn around and watch Brett Favre make a sweet touchdown pass or enjoy your weekly viewing of John and Kate plus 8. NOW THAT'S NEWS!
I feel like these students had every right to wear this shirt, but not to school. In the constitution, everyone has the freedom of speech . Although they may have offended some they were only expressing thereselves. Sometimes you just have to keep things to yourself so you dont put other people in situations that can be avoided like this
The school is at liberty to dictate the student's freedom of speech in order to maintain a respectful school environment. I think wearing shirts that diliberately say "Islam is the devil" is not making much of political statement, but more of a direct attack on the religion and it's followers. The students are entirely free to wear the shirts outside of school, but the way in which the US Public school system works allows the school to limit freedom of speeech among students. Having such offensive shirts would create conflict among students based on their cultural backgrounds, which is something that should be avoided in public schools. The school shouldn't allow students to wear discriminating or offensive clothing during school hours, but they are entirely free to do so outside of school.
I don't think the school should have the right to wear the shirts school, because it offended other students. I understand that the students have freedom to wear what the would like, but i think that wearing those shirts was taking their freedom a little to far.
I don't agree with Haynes, because it just wasn't right to wear those shirts to school. They should of thought about how other people would feel before the wore those shirts. This shouldn't become a trend, I believe that it was very disrespectful.
I don't think the school should have the right to wear the shirts school, because it offended other students. I understand that the students have freedom to wear what the would like, but i think that wearing those shirts was taking their freedom a little to far.
I don't agree with Haynes, because it just wasn't right to wear those shirts to school. They should of thought about how other people would feel before the wore those shirts. This shouldn't become a trend, I believe that it was very disrespectful.
These students have the right to wear these shirts because freedom of expression and freedom of religion are guaranteed to us in the first amendment of the constitution. It may not be a good idea to wear them, but they should have the right.
Following the precedent established by Tinker vs. De Moines, I think that these students have no right to wear these t-shirts in school. Students should be allowed to wear whatever they want as long as it does not disrupt the learning environment, which I have a feeling these shirts would do very well. I think these students should be allowed to wear their shirts out in public and around town, but it's just not appropriate in a school setting.
Students should not have the right to wear those shirts. Though they do have the right to express their opinion, it was quite obvious that they wanted to create a strong message that is obviously upsetting to some people.Almost all public schools in America keep a strict common rule that people's religous values should be kept respected. If teachers and other staff members in the school systems are not allowed to share their personal opinion about religon then students shouldn't be allowed to portray their negative views on other person's religon. Also in most school dress codes, clothing must not be allowed to advertise alchohalic beverages, sexual content or anything that is offensive to a particular group.
The constitution grants Americans freedom of speech and therefor the t-shirts are legally allowed to be worn. I agree with Cory, that morally, they should not be allowed to be worn. Schools have En Loco Parentis, which pretty much says that schools can make their own rules, therefor the students had to take their shirts off when the school said so, like in Tinker Vs. Des Moise, with the arm bands. The school obviously thought the t-shirts were hateful and shouldn't be worn, so they had the power to make them take them off. I don't think the shirts should be allowed to be worn because they attack a certain group of people, and as a country we should be fighting oppression inflicted on specific groups or people.
(Sorry this is late Mrs. Loranger!)
I believe that the students should not have the right to wear anti-Islamic T-shirts in school. While there will always be controversy surrounding freedom of speech issues, advertising anti-religious material is not appropriate in a public learning environment. School is supposed to be a safe and tolerant place, and because of that certain First Amendment rights are not granted to students.
I do believe that the anti-Islamic rhetoric is a "dangerous sign of the times", but I also believe there have always been such "dangerous sings", no matter what time it is. Because religion is so controversial, there will always be clashes and in some cases inappropriate behavior. Holy wars have been occurring for thousands of years, and it is presumptuous to assume that religious clashes are only a modern issue. It is up to us, however, to be as tolerant and understanding as possible so as to keep these clashes to a minimum.
No, the students should not have the right to wear those shirts in school because the 1st amendment protects the freedom of speech until it impedes on a right that is reserved by others (which it does in this case).
Yes, I do agree that this is an example of a larger trend of anti-Islam rhetoric that presents a dangerous sign of the times. After 9/11, there has been an anti- middle-eastern world sentiment floating around much of the US. Such actions (distributing and wearing these shirts) build and promote the hate which lingers within people. And when hate is promoted, it has to be stopped by someone, it cannot be allowed to live on because hate only begets hate.
"The world is a dangerous place, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it." ~Einstein
I feel that if the wearing of these t-shirts went undisturbed by the school, the students' campaign of hate would only escalate. The fact that this public statement was organized leads one to believe that the message on the t-shirts is meant to provoke violence, making it a safety hazard to the school. Furthermore, a statement that controversial might force anyone in proximity to pick sides. If the school takes no actions against it, one might assume that the school endorses the message and hate will continue to be accepted.
I definately think that it's very disrespectful to society and religion to wear such obseen shirts. I think there is a limit to freedom of speech and that should be respect. It is never right to disprespect a religion or culture. Those who oppose beliefs of cultures and religions do not need to advertise it in a negative way, keep your disrespectul thoughts to yourself.
Although students have the constitutional right to express their beliefs, I do not believe that these shirts were appropriate for school attire. However the greater issue here is that these students believed they were educated enough to wear these tshirts confidently. I agree with Haynes that this is a sign of a larger trend of anti-Islam rhetoric. This incident is an example of the stereotypes toward the Islam way of life seen in the media today. Instead of attempting to understand other cultures and religions, the youth of America judges and assumes. The students in Gainesville, Florida disregard the offensiveness of the tshirts to further stress the uneducated version of the religion of Islam.
Although they have every freedom to wear these messages outside of school they do not have a right to harrass other students by their clothes in school. Schools have always had dress codes it's not like this is a new issue. Students aren't garenteed rights during school.
The obvious answer here is that the first amendment grants the right to wear shirts promoting or bashing whomever you like. This is not a sound argument, however. Schools can and do prohibit shirts displaying inappropriate language or shorts that that are too short, and bring in drug dogs without a warrant to search the lockers. Why does the first amendment suddenly apply at school? It doesn't... While students are at school, they are required to follow the guidelines created by the school or the school board. Therefore, the school can rightfully send students home to change clothes if their attire is deemed offensive and it was, in my opinion.
The fact that churches are distributing such propaganda is a "dangerous sign of the times." Most of the students wearing these shirts were likely uneducated about the religion itself, and only knew whatever biased information the church or the media produced. That aside, the first amendment does grant freedom of speech, but a school is not an appropriate setting for such controversial opinions.
No, I believe they shouldn't have the right to wear these shirts in school because every school has a dress code. These shirts are not appropriate to wear because it offends your peers and it just discriminates them which is wrong. The only way to avoid conflict is if they don't wear these shirts.
I do agree with Haynes, because as these problems progress, the whole situation doesn't get any better. The whole point of having all these amendments is to again, avoid conflict and provide everyone with security of themselves. We should all just avoid things that might hurt us.
The fact that college students were even wearing these shirts scares me. I do agree that this is a dangerous sign of the times. Islam is not violent in its self. The religion happens to be prominent in very war-torn and poverty stricken areas. What these radical christians dont realize is that they themselves are creating hostile and violent beliefs by accusing another religion as a whole to be violent. This statemet is exteremly ignorant, and alarms me.
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