A pair of black flats, jeans and a white T-shirt bearing "Islam is of the Devil" in red stenciled lettering across its back; this was Emily Sapp's back-to-school outfit on Monday at Gainesville High School.
When she wore a similar outfit on Tuesday, she was sent to the principal's office before reaching first period. The school administration gave Sapp, 16, three options: change into other clothing, cover up the phrase or go home.
Sapp chose home, but she didn't feel nervous about the decision.
"I think I was already ready," she said.
She is one of about six members of church youth at the Dove World Outreach Center who have worn the shirts, which display the verse John 14:6 on the front, to local elementary, middle and high schools.
A sign lettered with the same message has stood in front of the Dove Center since early July.
On Wednesday, head church members were contacted by the American Civil Liberties Union and a conference was held later in the day, said Terry Jones, senior pastor at the church.
"We are not sure how far we want to push it, but we want to accomplish what we have set out to accomplish," he said, citing conversion of Muslims from Islam as one of the goals, Jones said. According to Jones, the phrase targets Islam because of its growth in the United States and Europe, but any religion that does not offer Jesus as the savior is of the devil, including Judaism.
"We are not for any hostility toward the individual; we are against the religion," he said. "[Some Muslims] may know no better."
But UF Anthropology of Religion professor Gerald Murray said the tactic isn't sound.
"You attract more flies with honey than vinegar, and that's vinegar," he said. "If the goal is to win Muslims, this is not the way to go about it."
Clay Calvert, a first amendment expert at UF's Brechner Center, believes that the T-shirt wearers may have a case against the school.
"There is no first amendment right to not be offended," Calvert said.
The school's dress code states that students must "wear clothes and accessories which are not dangerous to health or safety [and] do not disrupt the learning process."
The Supreme Court has ruled that wording of this sort is too vague and that schools must demonstrate that a message disrupts school, such as causing fights or school skipping, in order to censor religious or political messages, he said.
Calvert suggests an approach other than censorship.
"Throw more speech out into the marketplace of ideas," he said. "Put out an argument to counter theirs if you don't like it."
But Jackie Johnson, spokeswoman for Alachua County Public Schools, said the issue is simple.
"From our point of view, this is a violation of the dress code like any other, though it may be receiving more attention than most," she said.
Kenneth Wald, a politics and religion expert at UF, said the school system's case is strong.
"The school is well within their right," he said. "Legally, I don't think [the students] have a foot to stand on."
Wald is harshly critical of the students' involvement in the spread of the church's message.
"When I first heard the story I thought of it as child abuse and mind-poisoning," he said.
Wald's criticism was unsurprising to Jones.
"Of course we expected that to come up," he said. "That is why we did try to express to the children that there would be no consequences or rewards from us if they went ahead."
