California teacher tells students to sing Islam song praising Allah right after Paris terror attacks, angering parents

Parents at a school in Huntington Beach, California have complained to the school board after a teacher told her students to sing a Muslim song.

The teacher at Spring View Middle School changed the lyrics of the "Fight Song" by Rachel Patten and used this to teach her seventh-grade class about Islam.

"Like a sandstorm in the desert, sending camels into motion, like how a single faith can make a heart open, they might only have one god, but they can make an explosion," the lyrics read, according to CBS Los Angeles.

Parents and grandparents such as Nichole Negron and Suan Negron appeared before the Oceanview School Board on Tuesday to complain.

"I believe that by singing this song, the children feel comfortable believing that maybe Allah is the only god, and maybe that they should start following him. And that I'm not OK with," Susan said.

Ojaala Ahmed of the Council for American Islamic Relations in Anaheim asked: "Especially with the recent attacks ISIS has been doing, knowing that this potentially Islamophobic backlash might come about, what was the teacher's intention?"

Dr. Carol Hansen, Ocean View School District superintendent, apologised for the incident.

"The school administration and the teacher involved met with the family yesterday during the school day. They worked to clarify any confusion and resolve the family's concerns. The parents then posted their concerns on social media," she said in a statement. "I also issued an official statement apologising on behalf of the Ocean View School District if the song used in that particular World History lesson may have offended anyone."

Hansen said the seventh grade curriculum is guided by the California Content Standards and district curriculum and for 20 years, social studies classes have learned about World History including world religions such as Christianity and Islam.

"The long-time educator at Spring View was adhering to our Social Studies curriculum when she taught this lesson early last week," she said.

She added, "As a part of the lesson, some lyrics to a popular song, 'Fight Song' by Rachel Platten, were changed to include key concepts on Islam and students sang the song in order to help with memorisation."

Hansen said, "It was unfortunate that the lesson on Islam ended just prior to the tragic world events on Friday, November 13. It was not the intention of the teacher to incite anger or offend."