A student has left his high-school choir after the group sang an Islamic song which contained lyrics in praise of Allah.
James Harper, a senior at Grand Junction High School in Colorado, protested when the after-school men's choir chose to sing 'Zikr', by Indian composer A.R. Rahman.
He said he thought it was inappropriate for the choir to sing 'an Islamic worship song' which includes the line 'There is no truth except Allah'.
But when he complained to the local school district, they defended the choir director, Marcia Wieland - so Mr Harper left the group.
The student, a devout Christian, told KREX he thought that religious people should not be forced to sing the songs of other faiths.
'I don't want to come across as a bigot or a racist, but I really don't feel it is appropriate for students in a public high school to be singing an Islamic worship song,' he said.
'This is worshipping another God, and even worshipping another prophet.
'I think there would be a lot of outrage if we made a Muslim choir say Jesus Christ is the only truth.'
This is the latest in a series of controversies about the inclusion of faith in public schools - last month, a Rhode Island school was forced to remove a prayer banner after an atheist student complained.
But a spokesman for the school district which covers Grand Junction pointed out that the choir had sung religious songs in the past.
'This is not a case where the school is endorsing or promoting any particular religion or other non-educational agenda,' he told Fox News.
'The song was chosen because its rhythms and other qualities would provide an opportunity to exhibit the musical talent and skills of the group in competition, not because of its religious message or lyrics.'
He also emphasised that membership of the choir was voluntary, and said that singers were able to opt out of singing any particular song.
The song, 'Zikr', is in Urdu, but the choir was issued with the English translation before they started rehearsing it.
Composer Mr Rahman, a Muslim convert, insisted his piece was not meant to be a worship song.
He said that Mr Harper's objection to the composition was 'an example of why we need further cultural education through music'.
Mr Rahman is one of India's most well-renowned composers, and sprang to international fame after winning two Oscars for the soundtrack to 2008 Hollywood hit Slumdog Millionaire.
© Daily Mail, London |
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