Online history textbooks erase Jews and the Bible, portray Mohammed as a man of peace

In the past year many parents started homeschooling their children. They need resources, and there are a number of online textbooks that are free and look professional.

I looked at two world history resources. One is Students of History, which has free resources plus full lesson plans for a fee. The other is an online world history textbook for 7th graders that adheres to California standards.

In both resources, Judaism is a footnote and the Kingdoms of Judah and Israel are ignored. The Bible is barely mentioned. But Islam is featured with an entire section in both, and Mohammed does not wage a single war - he only defends himself while Islam spreads, magically.

In Students of History, the origins of Judaism are presented skeptically and as a derivative of  Zoroastrianism.

The first prophet and founder of Judaism is Abraham. Another main prophet is Moses who is believed to have led the Hebrews out of slavery in Egypt and wandered the Sinai peninsula’s desert for 40 years.

But the chapter on the origins of Islam say, flatly, that Archangel Gabriel spoke to Mohammed:

 When Muhammad was 40 years old he began hearing voices and seeing visions of divine angels. To better understand these visions he would go to Mount Hira and meditate. On one such journey in 610, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him and told him that there was only one god, Allah, and he had chosen him as a prophet.

Mohammed doesn't wage a single war in that chapter:

Muhammad would continue to have these revelations and began preaching his message. He soon gained many followers however, his belief in only one god upset the people who worshiped many gods. They were afraid that Muhammad’s teachings would upset the pagan gods that protected their trade.

In 622, Muhammad, his family, and his followers became persecuted for their beliefs and had to flee Mecca. The flight from Mecca to Medina is called the Hijra. They were welcomed into the city of Medina and were able to freely practice their religion. There the first mosque was built and he and his followers would pray towards Mecca.

At this time the pagans in Mecca tried to go to war with the Muslims in Medina. After several battles the Muslims defeated the pagans, and in 629 Muhammad returned to Mecca with 1500 converts and took control of the city. Over the next 2 years most of the Arabian Peninsula converted to Islam. Muhammad died in 632 as the effective leader of Islam and ruler of Southern Arabia.

The 7th grade textbook also barely mentions Judaism. Here is its first mention of the term:

Early in the first century AD a new religion, Christianity, appeared in Rome. At first the Romans saw the Christians as a branch of an older religion, Judaism. They didn't anticipate that Christianity would become a major force in the empire.

 In its chapters on Islam it does mention that some of it was derivative from Judaism and Christianity. 

The life of Mohammed is presented as heroic:

Muhammad Becomes a Prophet

A man named Muhammad brought a different religion to the people of Arabia. Historians don't know much about Muhammad. What they do know comes from religious writings.

Muhammad was born into an important family in Mecca around 570. Muhammad's early life was not easy. His father, a merchant, died before he was born; and his mother died later, when he was six.

With his parents gone, Muhammad was first raised by his grandfather and later by his uncle. When he was a child, he traveled with his uncle's caravans, visiting places such as Syria and Jerusalem. 

I have never seen any source that says Mohammed visited Jerusalem. 

The book then describes Islam as a socialist antidote to evil capitalism.

The caravan trade made Mecca a rich city. But most of the wealth belonged to just a few people. Poor people had hard lives. Traditionally, wealthy people in Mecca had helped the poor. But as Muhammad was growing up, many rich merchants began to ignore the poor and keep their wealth for themselves.

...Another of Muhammad's teachings also worried Mecca's wealthy merchants. Muhammad said that everyone who believed in Allah would become part of a community in which rich and poor would be equal. But the merchants wanted to be richer and more powerful than the poor people, not equal to them. Muhammad also taught that people should give money to help the poor. However, many wealthy merchants didn't want to help the poor. Instead, they wanted to keep all of their money. Because many of the people in Mecca didn't want to hear what Muhammad had to say, they rejected his teachings.

At first Muhammad did not have many followers. Mecca's merchants refused to believe in a single God and rejected the idea of equality. They even made Muhammad leave Mecca for a while. Eventually, however, Muhammad's teachings began to take root.

This implies that the Jews who opposed Mohammed were also selfish rich people who didn't care about the poor, and they had no valid reason to oppose someone who was usurping their religion. 

The spread of Islam is described as peaceful and voluntary, with fighting only when Mohammed was attacked.

Slowly, more people began to listen to Muhammad's ideas. But as Islam began to influence people, the rulers of Mecca became more and more worried. They began to threaten Muhammad and his small group of followers with violence. They even planned to kill Muhammad. As a result, Muhammad had to look for support outside of Mecca. 

A group of people from a city north of Mecca invited Muhammad to live in their city. As the threats from Mecca's leaders got worse, Muhammad accepted the invitation. In 622 he and many of his followers, including his daughter Fatimah, left Mecca and went to Medina (muh-DEE-nuh). Named after Muhammad, Medina means "the Prophet's city" in Arabic, the language of the Arabs.

Medina just means "city," although it was known at the time as "al-Madīnah an-Nabawiyyah," "the city of the prophet."

 Muhammad's departure from Mecca became known in Muslim history as the hegira (hi-JY-ruh), or journey. Muhammad taught that there was only one God. 

Muhammad's arrival in Medina holds an important place in Islamic history. There he became both a spiritual and a political leader. His house became the first mosque (MAHSK), or building for Muslim prayer. The year of the hegira, 622, became so important to the development of Islam that Muslims made it the first year in the Islamic calendar. According to Islamic belief, in Medina Muhammad reported new revelations about rules for Muslim government, society and worship. For example, God told Muhammad that Muslims should face Mecca when they pray. Before, Muslims faced Jerusalem like Christians and Jews did. 

Christians didn't face Jerusalem in prayer - they faced east no matter where they were.  

Muslims recognized the importance of Mecca as the home of the Kaaba. They believe the Kaaba is a house of worship that Abraham built and dedicated to the worship of one God. 

As the Muslim community in Medina grew stronger, other Arab tribes in the region began to accept Islam. However, conflict with the Meccans increased. In 630, after several years of fighting, the people of Mecca gave in. They welcomed Muhammad back to the city and accepted Islam as their religion. Muslims all over the world still look toward Mecca when they pray. In Mecca Muhammad and his followers destroyed the statues of the gods and goddesses in the Kaaba. Soon most of the Arabian tribes accepted Muhammad as their spiritual leader and became Muslims. 

Mohammed was a warrior. Islam spread by the sword. Muslims are proud of this. Yet this part of Islamic history is erased.

Similarly, Islam is treated as if it was the first religion to come up with the idea of charity or kindness towards the poor and strangers. 

Also, saying that Islam supports equal rights is true - for Muslims. The text doesn't describe how Islam regards non-Muslims. 

These textbooks have severe problems in both their content and their omissions. Almost certainly most written textbooks nowadays have similar shortcomings. And this is what is being taught to the next generation.

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