Betsy McCaughey: Muslims Turning the Tide in the School Culture Wars

The cancellation of single-sex swim lessons at Stuyvesant High School has put Muslim girls in a difficult position. Swim instruction is mandatory for graduation, which means the girls must choose between their modesty and their diploma. However, Muslim families are fighting back and making an impact in schools across the country by defending their traditional religious values, including modesty.

From Michigan to Virginia, Muslim parents are attending school board meetings to stand up against graphic sex education and gender fluidity teachings. This engagement is also impacting politics as more Muslims are voting Republican, recognizing that the Democratic Party does not align with Islamist values.

The Biden administration recently made rule changes roll that were not well received by people of faith. One rule favored transgender athletes in elementary and middle schools while the other revoked the Department of Education’s earlier commitment to protecting religious clubs and associations on college campuses. It has left many feeling that the current Democratic Party is disregarding traditional values.

Muslims take sexual modesty very seriously; it is a core value in their faith. Ironically, while Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects an employee’s right to practice religion in the workplace, there is no similar protection for students.

Despite this, Muslims are waging battles on college campuses and school board meetings and are often winning. In Syracuse University, Muslim women won a concession for swim times without men in the college pool, and in Utah, the Muslim Civic League has helped pass a state law that allows school athletes to wear turbans, hijabs and other modest clothing during competition.

One of the most significant impacts Muslims have had is at Yale University, where in 2021, undergraduates elected a Muslim woman to be the student body president. After weeks of protests by female Muslim students, Yale updated its campus housing policy to provide single-gender dorms and bathrooms. Muslim women students stood up against the use of male bathrooms, where they did not even have the privacy to remove their hijab. The issue of modesty continues to arise, including at Stuyvesant High School, where Muslim girls are being forced to wear full-body burkinis during mixed-gender swimming classes.

More Muslims are voting Republican, seeing that the Democratic Party is not representing their values. The Wall Street Journal’s exit poll revealed that 28% of Muslims voted Republican in the 2022 midterms, a double-digit increase in comparison to the 2018 midterms. It appears that Republicans are gaining ground.

It is essential for educators and society at large to respect families and individuals with faith-based values instead of undermining them. Let us create an inclusive society where everyone’s beliefs and values are valued.

Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and the chairman of the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths. Follow her on Twitter @Betsy_McCaughey.

Photo credit: ganzarolisara at Pixabay