Christian families in California have sued to halt public schools having students don Islamic dress, recite phrases from the Koran, and mimic the fasting associated with the Muslim observance of Ramadan. The New York Sun reports: Two Christian families from Contra Costa County, Calif., east of Oakland, charged in a 2002 lawsuit that a role—playing curriculum used to teach seventh—graders about Islamic history and culture violated the Constitution's prohibition against the establishment of religion. The students also engaged in a "race to Mecca." A federal judge in San Francisco threw out the case in 2003, but the families appealed. An attorney for the families, Edward White III, told a three judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday that during the eight—week unit on Islam, religious teachings were described as "facts" and students were instructed to wear name tags that included the religion's star—and—crescent imagery. "All of these...(Read Full Post)