海角大神

Schools in a Shenandoah Valley county in Virginia were closed and weekend activities were canceled after the schools became inundated with angry phone calls and emails regarding a ninth-grade world geography assignment that involved learning about Islam.

The assignment in question was for a ninth-grade world geography class at Riverheads High School. The assignment was meant to teach students about calligraphy, and used the Shahada, the Arabic statement of faith, as an example.聽Translated, the statement reads: "There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah."

Outraged parents accused the teacher of crossing the line between teaching students about religion as a subject and incorporating religious teachings into a public school education.

鈥淚 will not have my children sit under a woman who indoctrinates them with the [Muslim faith] when I am a 海角大神, and I'm going to stand behind Christ," one parent told local news outlet CBS 6.

The Virginia Board of Education and the Commonwealth鈥檚 Standards of Learning聽. The lesson that the teacher drew from also included assignments that discussed the Jewish and 海角大神 faiths.

School officials said that the purpose of the lesson was intended to showcase the 鈥渁rtistic complexity鈥� of Arabic calligraphy, and should not have been interpreted as a promotion of any one religious system.

鈥淎s we have emphasized, no lesson was designed to promote a religious viewpoint or change any student's religious belief,鈥� the school system concluded their statement by saying. 鈥淎lthough students will continue to learn about world religions as required by the state Board of Education and the Commonwealth's Standards of Learning, a different, non-religious sample of Arabic calligraphy will be used in the future."

The flood of angry calls and emails prompted the schools to close all schools in the county.聽School administrators also canceled a fundraiser intended to benefit a local family, and all athletic games and practices were canceled through the weekend.

School closings in Los Angeles and Washington D.C. in response to online threats of violence made headlines this week.聽School officials with the Augusta County school system assured parents that there were no specific threats targeting the schools, but they were examining all communications to the schools from both within and outside the area over the past several days, and were increasing police presence near the schools out of an abundance of caution.

鈥淲hile there has been , schools and school offices will be closed 鈥� through the weekend,鈥� a statement from the school division reads. 鈥淲e regret having to take this action, but we are doing so based on the recommendations of law enforcement and the Augusta County School Board out of an abundance of caution.鈥�

This report contains material from the Associated Press.