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Muslim schools in the UK linked to Islamic extremism
 Islamic fundamentalism that encourages children to despise British society is being promoted on websites at some Muslim schools in the UK, think tank Civitas has revealed. It warns the messages are threatening social cohesion and could fuel "ghettoization" and segregation. A site linked to one primary school said playing Monopoly or chess was forbidden and likened the latter to "one who dips his hands in the blood of swine". Another warned children in Britain were being exposed to a culture that was against everything Islam stands for, while a third school's website had electronic links to alleged extremist sites. Others had links to other sites or chatrooms that contain fundamental views such as forbidding the playing of cricket or even reading of Harry Potter books. Many of the messages, sites or links mentioned in the report have since been taken down, but the Department for Children, Schools and Families last night said it would investigate the allegations it contained. Representatives of Muslim schools angrily dismissed the study, labelling it "misleading, intolerant and divisive", but the report will reignite the debate over the growth of religious schools in the country. In a foreword to Music, Chess and other Sins, Civitas director David Green said: "The schools that give cause for concern are being run by religious fundamentalists. Their aim is to capture the next generation of Muslims for fundamentalism and to turn children away, not only from Western influence, but also from liberal and secular Muslims, whom they despise perhaps with greater vehemence than non-Muslims." The report said there are around 166 Muslim schools in the UK, which are a mixture or private or state funded, as well as around 700 part-time madrasas. But it found some were promoting anti-Western views actively on their website. The Madani Secondary Girls' School in East London said on its website: "Our children are exposed to a culture that is in opposition with almost everything Islam stands for." The school was unavailable for comment but the sentence has since been removed from the site. The Feversham College in Bradford had links on its website for two other sites, one of which allegedly advocated jihad. A spokeswoman for the college said the two links have now been removed and insisted the college was "unequivocally committed to community cohesion and promoting strong responsible citizenship". "Our website pages have for some time had links with other sites which are generally informative," she said. "It has been brought to our attention that some of the content now on two of those sites could be misinterpreted. We have therefore reviewed the position and have removed any links to those websites." A third school, a primary, had links with a site which said games such as Ludo, Monopoly, draughts and chess should be forbidden. The site added: "The Holy Prophet stated the person who plays chess is like one who dips his hands in the blood of a swine." The site was not working last night and the school was unavailable for comment. The report also found evidence of sites saying a woman who is raped is "jointly responsible" for the crime, that women should remain at home rather than study or that the greatest form of veiling for a woman was to stay indoors and keep herself hidden. The report's author Denis MacEoin said: "To see everything Western as the clear opposite of all one is taught to believe to be right has the potential to damage young minds for life. This should be taken seriously in the light of the 7/7 bombings, where hatred of what non-Muslims stand for was adduced as an excuse for massacre. We do not say that schools teach terror, but we do ask if they do not make some of their pupils likely to fall prey to even greater extremism. If all that is Islamic is right and lovely, and all that is non-Muslim is corrupt and evil, how might an impressionable mind understand his or her role in British life?" But Dr Mohamed Mukadam chairman of the Association of Muslim Schools UK, said: "Contrary to what this report claims, Muslim schools provide an outstanding standard of education for thousands of young children across the country. The report contains rhetoric which is not only inaccurate but also breeds distrust and disharmony and adds nothing positive or constructive to the debate on the future of education or social cohesion in our country." A DCSF spokesman said: "Ministers are absolutely clear that schools should be a force for bringing together communities - not dividing them. All maintained schools, faith and non-faith, have a statutory duty to promote community cohesion - which is inspected by Ofsted. DCSF has asked the authors of this report for sight of his evidence so that the allegations can be properly considered. We would treat any evidence of potential breaches very seriously but it would be inappropriate to comment on any specific allegations until we have seen the evidence and been able to consider its accuracy." Posted by: ryuge 2009-02-20 |
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