Hoist by Their Own Petard

Bigots in Florida are having a major butt-hurt over the fact that Islamic schools are using the state voucher programs to attract students.

They are upset because they wrote the voucher law to divert government funds to Christian schools, not "Heathen" Muslim ones.

Florida Republicans who backed a program funneling taxpayer dollars to private Christian schools are now panicking because some Muslims are taking advantage of those vouchers. They’re claiming—with no evidence, naturally—that the schools in question are promoting Sharia Law, all while their preferred brand of Christian indoctrination is propped up by their own legislation.

The voucher program in Florida began almost 30 years ago, specifically to help low-income families and students with disabilities get access to private schools that could accommodate them. In 2023, Republicans in Florida passed House Bill 1, which expanded the voucher program significantly. Under that bill, pretty much anyone in the state could get a taxpayer-funded “scholarship”—and that money could be spent at private religious schools. Republicans said this would expand “school choice” to all families, though the reality is that voucher proponents have long been trying to destroy public education.

The multi-billion-dollar plan has worked as intended. One report found that over 300,000 students are now using vouchers to attend 2,278 different schools—costing the state over $3 billion a year—and most of the private religious schools are Christian ones. Some of them, according to the Orlando Sentinel, “ban gay students and enforce strict gender-specific dress codes.” In fact, in 2020, the newspaper found that 156 private Christian schools in the state had anti-gay policies, including 83 that outright refused to admit openly LGBTQ students or would expel them if they were discovered.

About two dozen of the participating schools are Islamic. At least a couple of them have policies requiring girls to wear hijabs.

And that is now freaking out powerful Republicans who cannot believe taxpayer money is boosting Islam.

Merciful heavens the 1st amendment is a bitch. 

The bigots are freaking the f%$# out.

Just wait until the Church of Satan starts setting up religious schools in Florida.