Andre Carson, Muslim Democratic Rep from Indiana says Koran should be foundation for education system
Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN), the Muslim congressman who once said that the Tea Party would “love” to see black Americans “hanging on a tree,” made another controversial statement during a May 26 speech.
Speaking about the American education system, Carson told the audience that American schools should be modeled after Madrassas and touted the benefits of schools that use the Koran as their “foundation.”
Carson, the U.S. Representative for Indiana’s 7th Congressional District, created controversy when he told an Islamic Circle of North America convention that American schools should be modeled after Madrassas, or Islamic schools that are built on the foundations of the Quran, WND reports.
At the 6:19 mark of the video from the May 26 presentation, Carson tells the crowd what he believes American schools are lacking:
“America will never tap into educational innovation and ingenuity without looking at the model that we have in our madrassas, in our schools, where innovation is encouraged, where the foundation is the Quran. And that model that we are pushing in some of our schools meets the multiple needs of students.”
UPDATE: Statement released by the Congressman Friday afternoon:
My remarks at ICNA call attention to the fact that faith-based schools throughout this country have excelled because of innovative instructional methods and a willingness to engage different learning styles – whether visual, auditory, or kinesthetic. While I do not believe that any particular faith should be the foundation of our public schools, it is important that we take note of the instructional tools these schools utilize to empower their young people. Christian, Jewish, and Islamic schools have experienced notable success by casting off a one-size-fits-all approach to education, and this is a model we must replicate. Having attended a parochial elementary school myself, I’ve seen these successes first hand. If we are going to take American education to the next level, we must expand successful models and implement the practices that will enable success for our students.