The Shahada is the declaration of faith in Islam, that one gives when one becomes a Muslim. The uproar in the schools in Virginia was over homework a teacher sent home with students to learn how to write the shahada in Arabic as a "calligraphy assignment" in a world geography course.

http://www.whsv.com/content/news/Community-Meeting-About--362492691.html

When they study a geographic region, students study the religion and written language of the region. Consequently, students learn about Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Hinduism, and Islam, among others. In one class, an assignment on religion and culture in the unit on the Middle East involved an Islamic statement of faith, written in Arabic. The students were presented with the statement to demonstrate the complex artistry of the written language used in the Middle East, and were asked to attempt to copy it in order to give the students an idea of the artistic complexity of the calligraphy. The statement presented as an example of the calligraphy was not translated for students, nor were students asked to translate it, recite it or otherwise adopt or pronounce it as a personal belief. They were simply asked to attempt to artistically render written Arabic in order to understand its artistic complexity. The students in the class will engage in similar calligraphy and drawing assignments when they study China, its unique written language and the yin and yang (a traditional symbol in Taoism and Confucianism).

Remarks: The children did not even know what they were writing or that is was the shahada. The school has students writing things in other languages but does not tell them what they are writing/ What kind of an education is this?

Second point, if they wanted to educate them about Islam and it's beliefs okay, WHY did they feel they had to HIDE what they were teaching them?

The shahada is a solemn oath usually declared in a masjid (masjid - the word mosque means whiskey house, God would not have a whiskey house for his Muslim believers to pray in - although those who are in whiskey houses, bars, need some prayers...)

The parents are upset that their children were being taught something Islamic. Will Islam eventually banned in the US because it is getting a bad rap due to Isis's activities?