As more and more schools force sexually explicit teachings and books on children, some unlikely alliances are forming to fight for parents’ rights and religious freedom.

From The Washington Times. Muslim parents and Moms for Liberty have at least one thing in common: Both are alarmed about the infusion of LGBTQ books and other materials in school classrooms and libraries.

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Muslim families are raising their political profiles as they join the parental rights debate, most recently in Montgomery County, Maryland, where the school district has approved a host of books on homosexuality and transgenderism for the pre-K 5 curriculum and removed an opt-out choice.

“One of the fathers who had reached out to us said his daughter is a third-grader, and she came home and told him, ‘Daddy, I’m not a she. I want to be a they,’” said Zainab Chaudry, director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ [CAIR] Maryland office. “He was like, ‘She’s in third grade. What does she know about gender?’”

The fight goes beyond Montgomery County. Last year, Muslim parents were among those who packed board of education meetings in Dearborn, Michigan, over sexually themed LGBTQ books in school libraries. …

“It’s not the school system’s place to create that environment under the guise of inclusion, diversity and equity,” Ms. Chaudry said. “They are essentially faith-washing or brainwashing or imposing these values, according to what parents have told us.”

CAIR is no conservative group. It has fought immigration restrictions; opposed anti-boycott, divestment and sanctions laws; called for President Trump’s impeachment; and defended “anti-racism,” also known as critical race theory.

As books such as “Gender Queer,” drag queens and preferred pronouns make their way into schools, the Muslim advocacy group is aligning with right-tilting organizations such as Moms for Liberty and Parents Defending Education. …

The objections aren’t just coming from recent arrivals but also from Muslim parents with a wide range of beliefs, Ms. Chaudry said.

“A lot of the families who have reached out and expressed concern, they’re not families you would traditionally consider conservative,” she said. “They’re not necessarily the kinds of families that go to the mosque every Friday or pray five times a day or wear the headscarf.”

In other words, “the opposition to this is not just coming from one specific subset of the population. It’s pretty broad-based. And it’s not going to go away,” she said. …

Many Muslim Americans vote Democratic, but the Republican Party has made inroads. The 2022 midterm elections showed 28% Muslim support for Republican candidates, which represents an 11-percentage-point increase from 2018, according to a Wall Street Journal exit poll.

Ms. Chaudry acknowledged the political disconnect. “It’s definitely created a lot of conversations where groups like Moms for Liberty are reaching out to imams with long beards,” she said.

“Not the typical people you’d see in a room together,” she said, “but when it comes to their children, people are putting politics aside.”

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(Excerpt from The Washington Times. Photo Credit: Canva)