This is not going to be pleasant, but the truth needs to be told.

I learned recently that a student at a local junior college was told by a history professor that Muslims were in North America long before Columbus arrived here. Where in the world did this professor get this impression? What evidence is there to substantiate such a wild claim? Is her statement backed by other historians?

A group identified as The Middle East Policy Council (MEPC), with the assistance of Arab World and Islamic Resources (AWAIR), published a manual in 1998, and revised it in 2002. The manual, called the Arab World Studies Notebook, and which I have a copy of, is a 540 page manual in a 3-ring binder geared specifically toward educators. It contains background material written by a number of authors, lesson plans for instructors, classroom activities, and lists of additional resources for each topic covered.

The MEPC hosted “educational seminars” on Islam throughout the U.S. to help school instructors better understand Islam and prepare them to teach this subject in classrooms. Teachers were given free or reduced-price copies of the workbook. The MEPC even pitched the workbook directly to school boards in an attempt to have it adopted into the local curriculum of various school districts. According to various sources, over 20,000 copies of the workbook found their way into the hands of educators. Continue reading →