Student Petitions Supreme Court for Religious Freedom Violation after Assignment Requires Her to Write Islamic Conversion Creed

In 2014 as an 11th-grade student at La Plata High School in Maryland, Caleigh Wood believed her religious freedom was threatened when she was asked to write the Islamic conversion creed in a homework assignment. 

But, the Charles County Public School District, as well as the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed. “A reasonable observer, aware of the world history curriculum being taught, would not view the challenged materials as communicating a message of endorsement,” said Appeals Court Judge Barbara Keenan, according to the Maryland Independent.

According to the Appeal’s Court decision, as part of the class’ study on Islam, the worksheet Wood was assigned included a line, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah,” in which students had to fill in the blanks. Caleigh didn’t complete the homework and received a failing grade. 

With the help of the Thomas More Law Center, Caleigh’s father, Kevin Wood, is now bringing the case to the Supreme Court. “The general point is that there’s nothing wrong in teaching about other religions, whether it’s Christianity, Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism,” Richard Thompson, president and chief counsel for TMLC, said to the Maryland Independent. “The question is when you cross the line between giving an objective, accurate…