Islamic Student Sues School Over Graduation In Church, School System Settles

The AP reports that the Muslim student who sued his public high school because the graduation ceremony was held in a Baptist church has received an apology from Newark's school district and assurances that it will not hold future events in houses of worship. Bilal Shareef said he had to skip his 2006 graduation from West Side High School because his religious beliefs prohibit him from entering buildings containing icons of God. The lawsuit was filed on his behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union. School officials said they had to hold the ceremony at New Hope Baptist Church in order to accommodate 250 graduating seniors.

The fact that the ACLU would be the ones representing a Muslim over a school holding a non-religous function in what happened to be a church comes as no surprise. The school was not violating the Muslim's right because they chose a place that could accomodate a large graduating class. It was not a religous service being held and there was obviously no obligation to attend. The fact that Newark's school district was so quick to apologize and promise to never offend a Muslim again is disturbing. It should not be a priority of U.S. public institutions to make sure that Islamic sensitivities are not violated. I do not think that school systems should intentionally attempt to exclude anyone from a graduation but it is obvious that there was absolutely no malign intent. This Muslim student should be the one apologizing for being the type of grievance-monger that would file a lawsuit.
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