A very good and needed piece of writing, Margaret, congratulations. One detail needs to be amended in the text, though. The phrase "prayer in school" usually means that denominational prayer is offered to an entire body of students, with a few asking for exemption . This story is about the opposite. Observant Muslims would retire to a private space for short private prayer, which is simply a personal accommodation for a minority. As you say, the opposition is thinly-veiled bigotry.