An existing struggle over the nature of culture and politics has been reenergized in recent years, in part due to the election of Donald Trump. At least if recent curricular changes for Texas K-12 social studies programs are any indication, that shift has also come to the rarefied world of state education politics. For the 2019-2020 academic year, Texas State Board of Education (SBOE) officials voted in favor of a curriculum that gave pride of place to traditional Texan notions, including describing defenders of the Alamo as “heroes” and highlighting America’s “Judeo-Christian” background such as by voting to include the biblical Moses as a prominent lawgiver who influenced America’s legal tradition. These efforts were opposed vigorously by Texas chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), whose personnel attended the November amendments session. CAIR Austin’s executive director Maria Sheikh, together with the...(Read Full Article)