A veteran school teacher with over 30 years of experience in education and four years on an Orange County school board is sounding the alarm about what is happening to Muslim children in public schools across the United States. In this eye-opening episode of The Deen Show, Brenda Lipsack reveals how curricula endorsed by state departments of education are being used to deliberately target Muslim youth with ideological content that directly contradicts Islamic values and the teachings of the Quran. From elementary coloring sheets translated into Arabic to online platforms connecting children with anonymous “trusted adults,” the scope of this agenda is something every Muslim parent must understand.
How Muslim Children Are Being Specifically Targeted in Schools
Organizations like Advocates for Youth, which wrote the National Sex Ed Standards used by school districts across California, Michigan, and other states, have developed resource toolkits specifically aimed at Muslim youth. These toolkits use the concept of “intersectionality” to tell Muslim children they do not have to choose between their faith identity and adopting new ideologies about gender and sexuality. What makes this especially alarming is that these materials are being pushed through multiple channels simultaneously, not just sex education but also ethnic studies, social-emotional learning, anti-bullying programs, and diversity initiatives. The content is even being translated into Arabic for children while the California Department of Education refused to translate parent input documents into Arabic or Spanish, effectively locking immigrant Muslim parents out of the process while reaching their children behind their backs.
They know that kids are moldable and impressionable, but they know that parents will buck against this. So they are going behind the parents’ backs, teaching children things that they know their parents will not agree with, and then teaching kids how to advocate for these things and pass laws that remove parent rights.
The Curriculum Pipeline: From Elementary School to Indoctrination
- Elementary grades: Coloring sheets through the Black Lives Matter curriculum teach children as young as five that “everybody has the right to choose their own gender by listening to their own heart and mind” — printed in both English and Arabic.
- Cartoons and media: Animated videos endorsed by state education departments introduce children to an ever-expanding list of sexual orientations and gender identities, using child-friendly imagery to normalize concepts far beyond age-appropriate content.
- Puberty blockers promotion: School-endorsed videos tell children that if they are unsure about their gender, they can take puberty blockers to “give themselves more time to decide,” while failing to disclose that 100% of children who start puberty blockers proceed to hormone therapy, which leads to permanent sterilization.
- Online platforms: Advocates for Youth operates Instagram accounts and text messaging services where children can contact anonymous “trusted adults” who are trained to affirm every gender and sexual identity and discourage children from telling their parents if their parents disagree.
- Disney and entertainment: Popular films like Frozen, Onward, and Toy Story embed gender ideology into characters and storylines, creating “prior learning” that schools later build upon when introducing these concepts in the classroom.
- Spiritual abuse framing: The health education framework now classifies religious objections to these ideologies as “spiritual abuse,” labeling parents and faith communities who uphold Islamic or Biblical teachings on gender as sources of discrimination and harm.
What Muslim Parents Can Do to Protect Their Children and Their Faith
We need to come together as different races, different language groups, different faiths for the love of our children and unite. Where they want to isolate and divide, we need to choose to unite and protect that very sacred parent-child relationship, protect our families, protect religious freedoms and our values.
Practical Steps for Protection and Parenting with Purpose
- Opt out of student surveys that ask children invasive questions about gender identity, sexual orientation, and family life. Parents have the legal right to do this.
- Opt out of sex education classes and review every piece of curriculum material your child is being exposed to, including supplemental online resources and links.
- Talk to your children early about what Islam teaches regarding gender, identity, and the wisdom of Allah’s creation. Lay the foundation of faith before the schools attempt to lay a different one.
- Support school choice initiatives that allow tax dollars to follow children to private Islamic schools, charter schools, or homeschool programs where parents control the education.
- Build interfaith coalitions with Christian, Jewish, and other faith communities who share the same concerns about protecting children from ideological indoctrination in public schools.
- Connect with community leaders — imams, sheikhs, and educators — to develop alternative education models such as learning pods and affordable private Islamic schooling.
- Monitor your children’s online activity and be aware of platforms like Amaze and Advocates for Youth Instagram accounts that attempt to connect children with outside “mentors” without parental knowledge.
In Islam, children are an amanah — a sacred trust from Allah. The Creator who made us tells us who we are, and He does not leave our identity to guesswork or the whims of an ever-changing curriculum. As Muslim parents, our duty is clear: to educate ourselves about what is happening inside classrooms, to fortify our children with the unshakeable foundation of Quran and Sunnah, and to stand together as a united community in defense of our families. The time to act is now, because the protection of our children’s faith, innocence, and future cannot wait.
