Kelcey and her Koran

Shortly after Donald Trump was elected, I posted a scripture about respecting those in authority and that they were appointed by God. Quickly there was a comment that this person hadn’t seen that scripture from me when Barak Obama was president. I then pointed out that this had been my stance through every presidency and had used this scripture often to convey my belief that even if you didn’t agree with President Obama that as a follower of Christ you were to respect that position. My conviction wasn’t based on who the President was but by what the Bible says. I am fine with disagreeing but when called a hypocrite I usually defend simply because it isn’t true. While I’m not perfect, I do not adjust my beliefs to side with politics the way our current “free press” and society at large seems to.

When our daughter (Kelcey) was a sophomore in high school she came home to present Tammy and me with a problem she was having in her World History class. This was a loooong time ago so I cannot recite verbatim what she told us but Tammy and I agree that this was the synopsis:

            Dad, I have a problem in one of my classes. Mr Teacher (name doesn’t matter) has invited a Muslim lady to talk about Islam. I responded that I did not think that was a problem. And then she began to explain to me what HER problem was.

            At this point I feel it important to point out that my daughter was the one that requested my help. I will also, for the reason of transparency, tell you that Tammy and I have done everything in our power to stack the deck in the favor of Christianity because it is our faith of choosing. We did “force” our children to go to church because we felt it was important that they have a foundation of faith and we believed that Jesus was the Son of God. As long as they lived in our house that was the house rule. You went to church. You did not have to go with us but you did have to go. However, at the point of this story, my young daughter was but 15-16 years old and felt that her faith was under attack.

            So, I asked her what the problem was and she shared that SHE (not me) had asked Mr. Teacher if she could invite her dad or another person to come speak to the class about Christianity. This was when my daughter began to have an issue. Mr. Teacher explained that we live in the Bible belt and everyone knew about Christianity and would be a waste of time. She then informed him that she didn’t feel people knew about real Christianity if they did not go to church and those people were in the same boat that he was describing about Islam. Mr. Teacher shut her down and made her red hair flare and there we were, in our driveway, plotting his demise and asking for Pastor Dad’s help. Demise might be a strong word for an adult but probably not for a 15 year old redhead.

            I agreed to help. For length’s sake here are the steps without a lot of detail.

• I knew Mr. Teacher well and so I called and asked him for his side (because I always lean toward the adult when there is a dispute)
• Mr. Teacher told me the same thing Kelcey had reported to which I responded the same way Kelcey did. He would not relent and then treated me as if I was an Islamaphobe because I was a Christian preacher that questioned his teaching.
• I then wrote the principal and copied Mr. Teacher an email that was responded, I do not want to interfere excessively into a teacher’s classroom unless I feel the children are being harmed in some way. However in your inquiry, I side with the teacher in this matter.

So there we were, exhausted of resources unless we wanted to go to the school board, and I did call but no one really wanted to take on our “over-reaction” to my daughter’s classroom. Kelcey asked if she could stay home that day. Tammy and I had already discussed this option because we could see the writing on the wall. Speaking anything negative against Islam was all but forbidden in a public setting, especially in a public school. And we had decided that if this was what was happening, then instead of insulating her, we would educate her. And we did the unthinkable. We bought her a Koran. 

This is the one. It's still in my office

After making the purchase we made an appointment to meet with our Pastor. He had studied Islam and we trusted his advice. After explaining over the phone the situation and the fact that we wanted her educated and not insulated, we went to meet with him.

      He asked Kelcey several questions to be sure this was her and not me and then began to open the Koran with her. Imagine that for a moment will you; A Christian pastor sitting with a 15 year old girl discussing the Koran. After some time, Kelcey finally asked the big question in her 15 year old mind. What are your biggest issues with this book? And so, they took note-cards and wrote down Surah chapters and verses of some of the, shall we say, most questionable statements of Mohammed.

After leaving, I was so proud of my daughter and her quest for truth. I will say that the next few days she spent “studying” her Koran were a little unnerving to her mother and I but we stayed the course and kept our mouths shut. The big day came and Kelcey emerged from her room with Koran in hand. I asked her why she was taking it to school and she stated that the questions that our Pastor had, she was going to ask because she didn’t understand them either.

To say I was nervous would be a gross understatement. Was she ready to hear a one-sided talk about something that I was struggling with myself? Had Tammy and I done enough that at 15 she could see through the smoke and find truth? I prayed some that day. I prayed that this day would be a moment of faith for my daughter. I prayed that Kelcey wouldn’t be singled out by Mr. Teacher because of her “question”. I prayed that her classmates wouldn’t think of her as a freak because she didn’t just sit back and get the class over with.

I actually head from Mr. Teacher before hearing from Kelcey. At first he was disappointed that I armed her with questions meant to disrupt the class. When I explained that yes, I had taken steps to educate her ahead of time and that he usually approved of this type of parenting in math, science and English, he began to soften. Then he told me the real reason for his call. He said that Kelcey sat near the front and when the lady finished speaking that Kelcey was the first to participate in questions. He said she raised her hand so confidently and excitedly that any uninformed speaker would have called on her first especially with her Koran on her desk. Mr. Teacher then explained that Kelcey read a passage that she had a question on and the speaker was visibly upset at the question. He then said that from that point on, no one else had questions but deferred to Kelcey and her Koran and her questions. Mr Teacher stopped the questions and thanked the lady for coming.

     

A couple of points here. Me and Mr. Teacher completely disagreed on how this class should have been handled but we didn’t name call and hate each other. We discussed it, disagreed, handled our own business, and we are still friends today and have a good laugh about the little red head and her Koran in his class almost every time we see each other. Also, I hope that Kelcey learned a valuable lesson that day. Never run from what you don’t agree with. She doesn’t have to be afraid of things that she disagrees with or run from it or boycott it. Seek conversation. Seek understanding. And when you get those things, it’s still ok to disagree.

     

 I feel strongly that we should have convictions and a belief system and that it may not be the same as everyone else. I certainly do. I am passionate about what I believe; so passionate that I have based my actions, my family, my career and even my life on it. There was a time that this type of situation made me angry but now it’s just exhausting trying to navigate the current cultural climate of the world.  

      

But, when it gets too much, I just look try to remember times like this and I know that I can survive just about anything!

     

Have a great week,

      Pastor Dad