Textbook's Muslim reference raises concerns at Walker Elementary

Principal Lorna Carnley

CRESTVIEW — One parent’s objections to the phrase “Muslims pray to Allah” in a fifth-grader’s workbook has led to the book’s removal from Walker Elementary’s curriculum. Principal Lorna Carnley said the old “Worldly Wise 3000” workbook could be replaced with a superior product at no cost.

The phrase parent Roy Barbour had a problem with appears on page 100 of the workbook in a lesson on homophones — words that sound the same but have different meanings.

“Muslims pray to Allah” is intended to provide fifth-graders a supplemental lesson in differentiating between the words pray and prey, according to Okaloosa County School District spokesman Henry Kelley.

Barbour questioned why there was no similar example for Christians.

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This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Textbook's Muslim reference raises concerns at Walker Elementary