Muslim youths are angry, frustrated and extremist because they have been mis-educated and de-educated by the British schooling. Muslim children are confused because they are being educated in a wrong place at a wrong time in state schools with non-Muslim monolingual teachers. They face lots of problems of growing up in two distinctive cultural traditions and value systems, which may come into conflict over issues such as the role of women in the society, and adherence to religious and cultural traditions. The conflicting demands made by home and schools on behaviour, loyalties and obligations can be a source of psychological conflict and tension in Muslim youngsters. There are also the issues of racial prejudice and discrimination to deal with, in education and employment. They have been victim of racism and bullying in all walks of life. According to DCSF, 56% of Pakistanis and 54% of Bangladeshi children has been victims of bullies. The first wave of Muslim migrants were happy to send their children to state schools, thinking their children would get a much better education. Than little by little, the overt and covert discrimination in the system turned them off. There are fifteen areas where Muslim parents find themselves offended by state schools.
The right to education in one’s own comfort zone is a fundamental and inalienable human right that should be available to all people irrespective of their ethnicity or religious background. Schools do not belong to state, they belong to parents. It is the parents’ choice to have faith schools for their children. Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods. There is no place for a non-Muslim teacher or a child in a Muslim school. There are hundreds of state schools where Muslim children are in majority. In my opinion, all such schools may be designated as Muslim community schools. An ICM Poll of British Muslims showed that nearly half wanted their children to attend Muslim schools. There are only 143 Muslim schools. A state funded Muslim school in Birmingham has 220 pupils and more than 1000 applicants chasing just 60.
Majority of anti-Muslim stories are not about terrorism but about Muslim
culture--the hijab, Muslim schools, family life and religiosity. Muslims in the west ought to be recognised as a western community, not as an alien culture.
Iftikhar Ahmad www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
I wonder whether the majority of Muslims living in the UK are actually religious? I strongly doubt that there are any statistics on this though.
I also wonder, I was surprised when my friend in the education department told me that quite a few Muslims attend a Jewish school in his area. Why would they do that and why would the school take them I asked? He said that the Muslims choose the Jewish school because it has a better academic record than the local state school and the school accepts them in the hope it promotes better understanding and tolerance.
Perhaps Iftikhar would tell me whether places would be offered to Jewish kids in the Muslim school he is calling for?
I do . . . . . as I stated I have a friend who works in the department of education and he told me that because Catholic schools have some single sex schools they are often the preferred placings for Muslims.
ok but that is not what you stated, i know some muslims do send them to them but the overwhelming majority dont, there are simply not enough catholic schools for all the catholics nevermind the muslims so i think your friend my be right in saying muslims prefer single sex schools wherever they can find them but this doesnt mean most muslims send their children to catholic schools.
It is absurd to say that institutional racism is dead. It is still alive in the form of Islamophobia. . One of the deepest expressions of institutional racism affecting immigrant communities, and one that has been long documented is the unequal treatment of their children by the education system. They are motivated, but knocked back by their experiences of the school system. They are often treated more harshly and viewed with lower teacher expectation on the basis of teachers’ assumptions about their motivation and ability.
LAs are failing in their duty to combat racism in schools, according to OFSTED, Education system exhibits “aspects of racism”. A quarter of authorities are not doing enough to promote equal educational opportunities. A Brighton University study found that the Britain education system is institutionally racist, with pupils and teachers vulnerable to abuse by peers, teachers and management. I discovered the element of racism in early 70s. National Curriculum does not reflect cultural diversity and minority pupils are being held back by native teachers. London Borough of Newham was judged by OFSTED as unsatisfactory in tackling racism. There are big issues about racism in schools needed to be tackled but could not understand that Bilingual Muslim pupils need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods. It is a crime against humanity to deprive a child of his mother tongue but in the name of integration every thing is fair. Independent schools are also racist in nature. The parents of a Pakistani boy who was racially abused by his classmates and teachers are suing St. Christopher School.
Education report by Birmingham Advisory Service recommends that school lessons should take into account cultural differences in order to improve pupils’ performance. It calls for teaching “the need for mutual respect and understanding”. Minority pupils are underachieving at school because the curriculum is racist. The study found lessons often failed to motivate or interest pupils because curriculum did not provide enough positive role models. The curriculum needs to be more balanced and less Eurocentric. Pupils grow up thinking there is no other playwright than Shakespeare. An ethnicity “Tsar” should be appointed to reform British schooling. Muslim schools performed best overall, although they constitute only a fraction of the country’s 7000 schools. Muslim schools do well because of their Islamic ethos and a focus on traditional discipline and teaching methods. They teach children what is right and what is wrong, because young children need structural guidance. Muslim school is responsible for the development of the whole child. Muslim schools give Muslim children “pride, identity and a sense of culture and languages.
Iftikhar Ahmad
Muslim children have been attending state schools for tha last 60 years. They have been suffering from Paki-bashing and bullying. Majority of them have been leaving schools with low grades. They have been leaving schools without learning their cultural and linguistic skiils. The result is that they do not know where they belong. They suffer from Identity crises. Now Muslim youths are victim of terrorism. Thousands of them are being searched in streets and hundreds of them are behind the bar without any trial.
Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods. There is no place for a non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school.
There are hundreds of state and church schools where Muslim children are in majority. In my opinion, all such schools may be designated as Muslim community schools.
Bilingual Muslim children need to learn and be well versed in standard English to follow the National Curriculum and go for higher studies and research to serve humanity. At the same time, they need to learn and be well versed in Arabic, Urdu and other community languages to keep in touch with their cultural roots and enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry.
A Muslim is a citizen of this tiny global village. He/she does not want to become notorioulsy monolingul Brit.
Iftikhar Ahmad
London School of Islamics Trust www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
There is no place for a non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school.
There are hundreds of state and church schools where Muslim children are in majority. In my opinion, all such schools may be designated as Muslim community schools.
But where will the non-Muslim-minority children go if their school is now designated as a Muslim school? If there are hundreds of schools, this must mean thare are hundreds or even thousands of these children who would now be displaced. Where would they go?
In heaven, all the interesting people are missing.
Friedrich Nietzsche
* Religious schools shouldn't be funded by a government that claims to be secularist...it's rather stupid. I mean, it's like having rhinos make a house for monkeys...when quite clearly the rhinos do not see eye to eye with monkeys. Evidence? How many rhinos do you know that are best pals with monkies? Yeah exactly.
* Multi-religious/cultural schools are awesome. I've actually been in multi-faith/cultural forms of academia all my life and I've met some of the most wonderful people who are of different nationalities and walks of life. If I was a super hero, I'd be multicultural man ('M-M' would be imprinted on the chest area of my awesome blue spandex and I'd have a cape which would be red oh and a utility belt with grappling hook, tricorder and...oh sorry, got a little carried away there!)
* I've also met a lot of racist a-holes during that time but they were all chavs, so were not representative samples of the citizens of England.
Bottom line is most of the people I have met throughout my life have actually been very accepting and nice. Would I have met them in a muslim-only school I don't know - Multicultural Man does not have the ability to go back in time (I'm working on it) all I do know is it worked for me and I have no regrets.
Someone said to the Prophet, "Pray to God against the idolaters and curse them." The Prophet replied, "I have been sent to show mercy and have not been sent to curse." (Muslim)
I have just telephoned this place and they tell me that there are 10 state funded Muslim schools and none of them offer places to non Muslims - is that not racist (using your definition of Muslims as a race)?
I would agree but then the private school are worse because they teach a something of one religion, I like judaism n choristianity too and accpet it even though Im a muslim, e.g my son goes to a private school here, a british one, and i had ot hold him ack at home because they wre celebrating some jewish and hindu celebrations..
At least in british stateschool they only learn school, no religion, you can teach them however youw ant in school or seperate muslim schools, muslim centres, mosque qho hold programmes etc...
having said that, it is always best to live in a muslim country the resources for islamic educationa re abundant.
I have just telephoned this place and they tell me that there are 10 state funded Muslim schools and none of them offer places to non Muslims - is that not racist (using your definition of Muslims as a race)?
Salaam
In my opinion, it is a crime against humanity to send Muslim children to non-Muslim schools with non-MUslim monolingual teachers.
I set up the first Muslim school in London in 1981 and now there are round about 140 Muslim schools and only ten are state funded. There are 500,000 school aged Muslim children and only about five percent attend Muslim schools while 95% are forced to attend state and church schools to be mis-educated and de-educated by non-Muslim monolingual teachers.
There are hundreds of state and church schools where Muslim pupils are in majority. They are in majority because the native parents remove their children form those schools where they find the number of Muslim children is growing.. It is the native parents who do not want their children to be educated along with Muslim children. Even if, Muslim schools reserve some seats for non-Muslims, I do not think that they will send their children to Muslim schools.
Priority should be given to Muslim children in Muslim schools. Muslim community does not have enough Muslim schools to educate its own children, it is absurd to admit non-Muslim child.
In my opinion, there is no place for a non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school. Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods. For higher education, there is no need for a Muslim college or a university with Muslim teachers.
In my opinion, it is a crime against humanity to send Muslim children to non-Muslim schools with non-MUslim monolingual teachers.
I set up the first Muslim school in London in 1981 and now there are round about 140 Muslim schools and only ten are state funded. There are 500,000 school aged Muslim children and only about five percent attend Muslim schools while 95% are forced to attend state and church schools to be mis-educated and de-educated by non-Muslim monolingual teachers.
I don’t know how the state funded Muslims schools get away with denying entry to non Muslims, in fact I’ll be writing to the Ministry of Education asking why there is not quotas. I suspect that you know that unless you start admitting non Muslims into state schools you will not get further funding. It is far too simplistic to say that there are more Muslim children than there are places as a reason for not offering places for non Muslims, you know (I suspect) that it is government policy to encourage all faith schools to offer places to children of other faiths as a means of encouraging understanding and tolerance.
I wonder whether you were the person I spoke to when I telephoned today, the person with a foreign (possibility Pakistani) accent? Could you tell me whether Pakistan funds single faith schools for Christians?
I don't think the state should fund religious schools. If you truly want your child to grow up in a "muslim friendly" environment - then I suggest that you move to a muslim country.
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