Right-Wing Media Outraged That Pledge Of Allegiance Was Recited In Arabic At NY School

Fox News Host: Pledge Should Not Be Read In A Language “So Tied” To Terror Attacks

Written by Alex Kaplan

Published

Conservative media figures railed against a New York high school at which a student recited the Pledge of Allegiance in Arabic for National Foreign Language Week, connecting the language with terrorism and demanding the Pledge be said in English.

Pledge Of Allegiance Read In Arabic At New York School

Pledge Of Allegiance Recited In Arabic During Morning Announcements At NY High School. As NBC News reported, a student at upstate New York's Pine Bush High School read the Pledge of Allegiance in Arabic on March 18 in celebration of National Foreign Language Week, sparking controversy and prompting the school to apologize:

Andrew Zink, Pine Bush's senior class president, normally reads the morning announcements, and told NBC News that he consented when a teacher asked another student to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in Arabic. There were talks about having the pledge read in Japanese, French and Spanish this week as well. [NBC News, 3/19/15]

Conservative Media React By Invoking Terrorism, Demanding Pledge Be Said In English

Radio Host Laura Ingraham Compares Saying Pledge In Arabic To “Skinheads” Saying Pledge. On the March 20 edition of her radio program, Laura Ingraham said, “What if the skinheads want to do the Pledge of Allegiance? Are we going to do that too?” and, “Most people who love this country love it enough to speak the language [English].” [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 3/20/15]

Fox's Alex Ferrer: Pledge Should Not Be Read In Language “Tied To ... Terrorist Attacks.” On the March 20 edition of Fox News' Outnumbered, guest host Alex Ferrer said “the Pledge of Allegiance, I don't think, should be read in a different language, but especially not -- especially not -- in a language that is so tied to the terrorist attacks that we're seeing all the time.” [Fox News, Outnumbered, 3/20/15]

Fox Guest: Reciting Pledge In Arabic Inappropriate Because “We Are At War” With Many Who Speak Arabic. On the March 20 edition of Fox & Friends, President of the American Islamic Forum for Democracy Zuhdi Jasser suggested reciting the Pledge in Arabic could encourage young Muslims to join ISIS and said the Pledge should not be in the language of “communities or nations we're at war with.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/20/15]

Daily Caller: The School “Screw[ed] Up The Pledge Of Allegiance.” Reporting about the incident, the Daily Caller called the high school's decision a “gimmick” and said the school "[managed] to screw up the Pledge of Allegiance." [Daily Caller, 3/20/15]

Fox Host: School Should “Keep The Pledge Of Allegiance In English.” On the March 20 edition of Fox News' America's Newsroom, host Martha MacCallum said “I'm not sure it was the brightest idea to have them do the Pledge of Allegiance in any language except English.” MacCallum later added “maybe you ought to keep the Pledge of Allegiance in English.” [Fox News, America's Newsroom, 3/20/15]

Fox's Todd Starnes: Saying Pledge In Arabic Means “Islam Is Given Accommodation.” In a FoxNews.com opinion piece on the controversy over the Pledge being recited in Arabic, network radio host Todd Starnes claimed “our schoolhouses have become places where Christianity is marginalized and Islam is given accommodation”:

In my most recent book, “God Less America,” I illustrate how the nation's public schools have been turned into indoctrination centers. Teachers are preaching a liberal ideology. Our schoolhouses have become places where Christianity is marginalized and Islam is given accommodation. [FoxNews.com, 3/20/15]