PHILADELPHIA — A series of children’s textbooks on Islam contains misleading and inflammatory rhetoric about the religion, inaccurately portraying its followers as inherently violent and deserving of suspicion, according to a Muslim civil liberties group.
The Pennsylvania chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations began what it calls a public awareness campaign yesterday against the “World of Islam’’ books by Mason Crest Publishing.
“This is not about Muslims being offended,’’ Moein Khawaja, the chapter’s civil rights director, said at a press conference. “Filled with incorrect information and deception, these books are contrary to the education mission of schools and libraries.’’
It was not immediately clear where the series is being used, but Khawaja said complaints from council chapters across the country lead him to believe it is on bookshelves in about two dozen states.
The books are designed for ages 10 and older.
