The Thomas More Law Center (TMLC), a national nonprofit public interest law firm based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, on behalf of its client Libby Hilsenrath, asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday to reverse the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruling based on the Supreme Court’s new test announced in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District decided in 2022. This new test instructed courts that they must refer to “historical practices and understandings” whenever considering a violation of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.
The controversy began in January 2017 when Libby Hilsenrath, a Christian, discovered her 12-year-old son was being proselytized to convert to Islam during a mandated class in World Cultures and Geography being taught at the Chatham Middle School in Chatham, New Jersey. Seventh grade students at Chatham Middle School were forced to endure Islamic propaganda and an explicit call to convert to Islam through a disturbing set of videos.
One of the videos, Intro to Islam, students were told to watch is 5 minutes long. It is filled with the Islamic religious beliefs presented as facts, and Islamic propaganda.
This video includes the following phrases as facts:
• “Allah is the one God who created the heavens and the earth, who has no equal and is all powerful.”
• “Muhammad (Peace be upon him) is the last & final Messenger of God. God gave him the Noble Quran.”
• “Lo, We have sent thee (O Muhammad) with the truth, a bringer of glad tidings and a warner.”
• “What is the Noble Quran? Divine Revelation sent to Muhammad (S) last Prophet of Allah. A Perfect guide for Humanity.”
• “The Noble Quran: Guidance, Mercy and Blessing for all Mankind.”
• “The Noble Quran: Without any doubt and an eloquent guide from Allah.”
• “The Beautiful Quran: Guidance for the wise & sensible.”
• “Islam: A shining beacon against the darkness of repression, segregation, intolerance and racism . . .”
The video ended with a call to conversion: “May God help us all find the true faith, Islam.”
No similar proselytizing videos involving other religious faiths were presented to students.
See 5-minute video here (caution)
Mrs. Hilsenrath also learned that her son was required to complete a worksheet which included a fill-in-the-blank written profession of the Shahada, the conversion statement to become a Muslim, “There is no God but ____ and ____ is his messenger.”
After the school board disregarded her concerns, Mrs. Hilsenrath filed a federal lawsuit which ultimately ended with the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirming the district court’s granting of summary judgment in favor of the Chatham School District.
The Third Circuit’s decision in the Hilsenrath case is inconsistent with the broad protection from subtle coercive pressures that the Establishment Clause affords parents and students in the school setting under previous cases. The Kennedy case never overruled these cases.
The Hilsenrath Petition argues that in the public-school setting, the Establishment Clause provides parents and students with broad protection, ensuring that the classroom will not purposely be used to advance religious views that may conflict with the apparent private beliefs of the student and his or her family.
Hilsenrath presents important unanswered questions about the proper Establishment Clause test to apply in the public-school context after the Kennedy decision. Lower courts have struggled to determine whether Kennedy articulated a new Establishment Clause test, what that test is, and what impact, if any, that test has on the long-standing Establishment Clause precedents which safeguard parents and their students against coercion in public-school.
Only the Supreme Court can resolve the lower courts’ confusion and confirm the heightened protection parents and students enjoy under the Establishment Clause in the public-school setting.
Moreover, the recent case of Mahmoud v. Taylor, decided after the Third Circuit’s ruling, confirms “the right of parents to direct the religious upbringing of their children.”
Supreme Court review is necessary because the Third Circuit’s ruling in Hilsenrath disregards fundamental principles which allow school districts to ignore their duty to guard and protect a parent’s right to direct the religious upbringing of their children.
The Hilsenrath petition argues that review is warranted because of confusion in the lower courts: 5 courts have reached at least 4 different conclusions about what Establishment Clause test to apply after the Kennedy decision, especially in the public-school context.
Click Here to read the Cert Petition filed with the Supreme Court
The Thomas More Law Center defends and promotes America’s Judeo-Christian heritage and moral values. It supports a strong national defense and an independent and sovereign United States of America. The Law Center accomplishes its mission through litigation, education, and related activities. It does not charge for its services. The Law Center is supported by contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations and is recognized by the IRS as a section 501(c)(3) organization. You may reach the Thomas More Law Center at (734) 827-2001 or visit our website at www.thomasmore.org.