Student quits H.S. choir after being told to sing Muslim Allah praise

A school district in Grand Junction is standing up for a high school music teacher after a student complained about a song being sung in the men's choir club.

The song is called Zikr and it is composed in the style of Islamic prayer chants.

"I think there would be a lot of outrage if we made a Muslim choir sing Jesus is the only truth," said Grand Junction High School senior James Harper. "In the Bible you don't worship another God. This is another God, even another prophet."

Harper, a Christian who was in the choir up until recently, said that once he looked over the translation of the song he felt uncomfortable singing it.

"I don't want to seem like a racist or a bigot or anything I'm just really rather uncomfortable any religion singing to any other god makes me uncomfortable. It's not just exclusive to the Muslims," Harper told CBS4 partner KREX-TV. "I really don't feel it is appropriate for students in a public high school to be singing an Islamic worship song."

Harper quit the choir and also asked school leaders for the song to be pulled from an upcoming performance. He said he thinks it's not a song that should be sung by students in a public school setting.

School District 51 spokesman Jeff Kirtland said that won't happen; school officials stand behind choir instructor Marcia Wieland's musical selections for what he stressed is a voluntary club choir.

"School choirs are going to be engaged in singing religious types of songs," district spokesman Jeff Kirtland said. "Choral music is devoted to religious themes. It does not discriminate and does not discriminate against any one religion."

Kirtland told KREX-TV that this "is about bringing diversity to the students and showing them other things that are out there."

Since Harper raised concerns about the song several parents at the school have stepped forward in support of Wieland and the song.

"I thought it was fine, I've heard him sing Christian songs, Hebrew songs, I've heard him sing all sorts of songs," said parent Chris Mahre. "I asked him how he felt performing that and he said, well, he felt comfortable because it wasn't necessarily an expression of his own beliefs."

The composer of Zikr, A.R. Rahman, a Muslim, has said it is not intended for a worship ceremony but it is composed in the Sufi prayer style. It's an upbeat and rhythmic song which is, according to the sheet music, is meant to be performed in a "Slow, Meditative and Mysterious" fashion.

Wieland said she knew their might be questions about the song after she chose it so she asked choir members read an English translation. She also encouraged them to view a YouTube video that features the music.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=uIKJJxzv6cI

That's fine, that's his decision.

I wonder if he has an issue singing songs written from a female perspective? Does that make him uncomfortable?


But this part:



Um.... and why the **** not? Its a choir! Choirs sing songs. This would be like saying "I don't think its appropriate to look at muslim art in a high school art appreciation class."



Totally cool, that's his call.



He looks a lot like an *******.



Exactly.

Kids a dik.

And so are his parents.

I went to a high school choir recital recently. It was for black history month. They sang african tribal spiritual songs, and they explained the meaning of the lyrics in between the songs.

They were very unchristian songs, and dealt with the worship of false gods, icons, and animism. This was in a very christian community.

No one complained.

**** Islam! Oden is the way of wisdom and truth.

Perhaps the teacher should do what the translater did not.

All of the song is in english but the word God.

Babel raises its head once again.

If you put God back in the song by the sounds you use.

It is one hell of a gospel piece.

is it not.

So they can't say the Pledge of Allegance in school anymore because it has "One Nation under God" in it but they can sing Islamic worship music, I get it. Islamification is almost complete! Obama must be proud.

I agree. Screw Islam. Mohammud was a damn pedophile.

these are my thoughts, in a voluntary choir, nothing is truly forced because you have an OPTION

unlike a mandated class,,,

since when cant they say pledge of allegiance? when did congress pass this law?

is this true in all circumstances? Or are they just not permitted to mandate it?

could they recite it in an american history class, where it has a specfic context?

this seems more about context, and the fact it is a voluntary situation and not a mandatory school course,,,

The pledge has been banned by various schools boards across the country.

I don't see groups like American Athiests going ape$hit over this. Oh thats right, they only go nuts over christian and catholic religions because they know the Muslims will come kill them when the other religions will just say a prayer for them.

I'm sorry i agree with the butthead. They cannot peacefully pray in school so why should a choir be given directions to sing worship sounding songs? If God is out of schools, so should all other religions and artifacts be as well. Whether it be Allah or sumatra-khan. Or Odin.

I can hear my old H.S. yelling at me now..
Break it down, M.!



All I'll say to this is. El Oh El.



Regular High School? Or is this like a Christian Academy?



..Zikr? The Remembrance of Allah. Gotcha.



..there wouldn't be an outrage, dumb***, the choir is 'voluntary'. Translation? They wouldn't have a choir. Kind of weird.. why does the word choir not have a 'q' in it?



So, grab your jacket, and go home. No one is forcing you to be there. Its music, period. If you want to convey a message, join the Disney Channel.



Did he.. really.. just state he'd be singing to God? o.O
Nowhere the basturd never answers me.. he's always in Mesa County. I don't really feel it's appropriate for them to start teaching gay history in public school, but guess what? Soon they will and I couldn't careless. They don't care about what's 'appropriate' or not.



..yeah, power to you bigot. I mean, racist.. crap!

..If he truly wanted it to be that way, it's called a petition. Get them all to sign it. If they all sign it, guess what? They'd have no choir and would, ultimately, have to drop it. Imagine that...



..wait, wait, wait. Your instructor's name is Marcia.. and it's a guy? Man, your already a dumb*** for joining that choir.



..yeah, right. I can't recall ever hearing a choir sing the Devil's theme.



..like what? o.o
..Aliens? Unicorns? Lochness Monsters?



..oh yeah. *eye roll*
Dayum you Rahman and your song to Allah!
I love how parents step up for certain things..
..yet never seem to be around during actual pressing matters.



..wow, either this parent is full of s***, or the whole story is a fabricated lie.

How can he be 'okay' with it when he dropped out of the choir?
Nutsacks.



...riiiiight. Mysterious meditation. Now that's believable.
..if that's what you are going for, why add lyrics?
That way no one knows what the song is about..
..and you can meditate on its mysterious secret-ness.



Man...
Makes me feel old when I make this statement..

They have youtube now in High School?!?

..wth man!

I so want my money back. :/
..all they taught was a lie..
..and now all this cool stuff is there!

I might actually like school now. Might.

Lpdon, I think you've been lied to by someone. I heard this claim a few years ago, and I looked into and found that nowhere had the pledge of allegiance been 'banned' from a public school. (Some private schools don't say it.) I suppose this could be a very recent development, but I'd put my money on the idea that someone lied to you.

No, the Allegiance has NOT been banned.

However, I do believe, though I am unsure if it ever came to pass because I was enlisted at the time; but.

Their were those fighting to have the words, UNDER GOD permanently removed from the traditional Pledge of Allegiance in the school system.

..for the record, I'm not an atheist.

Two. It's a voluntary program. To go ape $hit over it would show a major lack of intelligence.

It's not being demanded of them to neither participate nor sing it.

If it offends you, don't sing it, don't attend the show.

Yet it also shows we are 'better' than those who ridicule our ways.

You cannot take without a little giving.

American Atheists are every bit as opposed to Islamic religiosity as they are Christian religiosity - but they rarely need to protest against an inappropriate mixing of Islamic religion and government because it rarely becomes an issue. Our Christian-dominated society makes sure of it.




Its a choir club. As Ms Harmony pointed out, its not a mandated class. And while singing religious themed music can be a part of someones worship, someones prayer, singing as religious song in a school club choir does not have the same implications as being lead in a group prayer in the classroom.

Consider that its very rare for someone to participate in a prayer they don't believe it, but its very common for us to sing songs that don't exactly reflect our beliefs.

I don't really have 99 problems, and sometimes a respected female companion actually does contribute to my problems.

I see this as a matter of appreciating the art of other cultures. I am equally opposed to both Christian and Islamic prayer in the classroom (moments of silence, to silently pray as you wish, if you wish, is fine), but I support the singing of Hebrew, Christian, Islamic, Native American, African, Hindu, etc spiritual songs.




Notice that this choir has had Christian and Hebrew prayer songs in the past - so this complainant does not agree with your 'treat them equally' approach. He thought that Hebrew and Christian songs were fine, but Islamic songs are not acceptable.

Sounds like a bigot to me.

Yes, atheist groups have tried to have the pledge returned to its original phrasing.

Interesting point.