The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is the leading Islamic extremist organization in North America. CAIR pretends to be a civil liberties group but has a long record of promoting radical ideology and of flimsy complaints of discrimination against Muslims. On March 17, CAIR unveiled a new effort–not its first–to interfere with educational publishing. At a press conference in Philadelphia, CAIR accused the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI), which is located in that city, of fostering “incorrect information and fear-mongering” by publishing a 10-book series, “World of Islam.”

CAIR’s attack is hardly a surprise. Its agenda has always focused on gaining control over how Islam is discussed and taught in American society. It published An Educator’s Guide to Islamic Religious Practices on the pretext of “help[ing] to create a culturally-sensitive academic environment.” It has called on public school administrators to adopt a list of separate facilities and provisions for Muslim students. These include adding Muslim holidays to school calendars; accommodating Muslim prayer; separating out pork products, which are forbidden to Muslims, on school menus; protecting girl students who affect the head covering or hijab, and refraining from offering handshakes when meeting Muslim women and girls. Further reflecting its fundamentalist outlook, CAIR is particularly concerned with co-ed physical education, especially swimming classes, from which it asks that Muslim students be excused; it calls for full-body covering of girls, and separate shower facilities, in gym classes. CAIR also demands that Muslim children to be exempted from sex education and family life classes, “strenuous physical activity” during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, and school dances.