Derby Muslim School

[Iftikhar]

The school is in a mess because the Board of Governors have appointed a non-Muslim head teacher along with couple of non-Muslim female teachers.There is no place for a non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school. They do not understand and respect the needs and demands of the Muslim children. Majority of children are from Pakistan, they need to learn and be well versed in Urdu to keep in touch with their cultural heritage and enjoy the beauty of Urdu literature and poetry. It is their social and emotional language. The school does not teach Urdu language. The school only teaches Arabic language which is a religious language. A Muslim must learn and be well versed in standard English, Arabic and Urdu and other community languages. A Muslim is a citizen of this tiny global village. He/she does not want to become notoriously monolingual Brit.

There is no requirement for teaching staff to hold appropriate qualifications or have the necessary experience; there is no requirement to follow the national curriculum, which does work towards recognised qualifications. In my town the children attending the state schools have below average attainments at GCSE compared to the national average. The children are not achieving their full potential and are being let down by the qualified teachers at these schools. Although I’ve no doubt that there are many non-’qualified’ people who could teach as well as, or better than, many of those certificated to do so. A very real concern is that those who teach in state schools (often also including “assistants”) lack proficiency in the subjects they teach, even at the most basic levels. In those circumstances, what they are doing is not teaching, but inculcating wrong information or none at all. Curriculum seems to have been dumbed down to accommodate teachers who probably would never have passed the subject at O level in times gone by – let alone A level or a degree.
State schools get appalling Ofsted reports as well. There will be good and bad state schools and good and bad free schools. Muslim Girls school tops state school rankings in Blackburn. Yet, the only news we get is about a failing school in Derby. There are good Muslim schools and there are bad ones. However, let’s be blunt, negative stories about Muslims predominate. There is a reason for that. And no, it’s not because Muslims predominantly do negative things. While it’s great that a Muslim school toped some ranking that isn’t news – just like the many Christian and secular schools that top local rankings aren’t. There is a very obvious reason why there are more negative stories about Islam than positive ones.It is funny how negative Muslim stories are given front page and positive Muslim stories are packed away where you have to actively look for them. What about the Catholic church for example: White British men who abused boys and were just placed in different institutions when caught and protected by their superiors.Or is it because we are white that we don’t behave badly or are blameless for any bad behaviour?

Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental period. This is the only solution for them to keep away from the evils of western society. Let them teach what ever the native Brits would like to teach their children. It is a crime against humanity to keep sending Muslim children to state and church schools with non-Muslim monolingual teachers. This is why the legal definition of genocide includes cultural killing, not only actually killing. British education is the home of institutional racism and British teachers are chicken racist.

What gives OFSTED the right, or indeed any Brit, to preach to minority groups about how they should live their lives. This is a cosmopolitan country, the Muslim community have the right to educate their children how they choose. Studying the Qur'an will certainly help towards these children becoming fully integrated citizens of the UK.
IA
London School of Islamics Trust
http://www.londonschoolofialmics.org.uk

 

[observer]

It is funny how negative Muslim stories are given front page and positive Muslim stories are packed away where you have to actively look for them. What about the Catholic church for example: White British men who abused boys and were just placed in different institutions when caught and protected by their superiors.Or is it because we are white that we don’t behave badly or are blameless for any bad behaviour?

I don't think that's a good example - the various scandals surrounding the Catholic church have been widely (even sensationally) publicised throughout the UK and Ireland. It's been one of the biggest stories of the last 10 years. The church may have tried to cover it up but the press certainly hasn't. A very quick search on just the BBC gives a huge list of stories relating to such abuse: http://www.bbc.co.uk/search/news/?q=priest%20abuse

 

[Independent]

British education is the home of institutional racism and British teachers are chicken racist.

The only racism I can see in this account is your desire to select on racial grounds. You want to close off an English school, in England, to everyone except ethnic Pakistanis.

More than 60 parents asked about moving their kids out even before the Ofsted inspection and before the media got hold of it. Yes, there have been some bad schools - but it's exceptional for a school to get so bad, so quickly.

 

[Iftikhar]

I heard 3 parents being interviewed on the radio a little while ago, and god help me they were actually quite happy with the school! It would seem that the spirit of the Crusades is alive and well. Al-Madinah is certainly not the only failing school in the country. However, seasoned Ofsted report readers will I hope agree that we have never read such a ****ing report. Words like “dysfunctional”, “woefully inadequate” and “chaotic” do not normally feature in Ofsted reports, even when they are slating a school. The evidence is surely the 173 Free Schools that have, minor teething troubles aside, opened perfectly successfully – many opened by teams that have never opened a schools before. That’s the reality. So a Muslim school (which it seems retains a great deal of parental backing) has come a cropper with serious questions to answer. It seems however, despite the odd teething troubles (buildings, Ofsted confusion over Montessori methods, etc.) here and there, that the other 173 Free Schools have opened successfully against a backdrop of ideological sniping from local authorities, the Labour Party and teaching Unions. So the Free School failure rate so far is 0.6%. Disarray for sure. State schools get appalling Ofsted reports as well. There will be good and bad state schools and good and bad free schools.

If you think the shambles at Al-Madinah is an isolated example, it’s worth taking a look at the recently published Section 8 report from HMI’s visit to Discovery Free School in Crawley. http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/inspection-reports/find-inspection-report/provider/ELS/137326

The school was placed in Special Measures in June because teaching, achievement and leadership were all judged to be inadequate. Three months later, John Seal HMI returned to scrutinise the school’s plans for improvement. These were all judged to be unfit for purpose. The Head teacher has agreed to stand down. HMI said “It is essential that a credible professional is appointed to the headship without delay to provide the to remove the school from special measures.” So what has Lord Nash and his department done between June and now so that this school starts to improve ?

Muslim families are as entitled as any other religious group to schools that nurture their children's faith. Muslim pupils should be educated in Muslim schools because the current system is marginalising them. Teaching Muslim children in a Muslim school would remove the "problem of them being exposed" to values that conflict with Islamic faith. Muslim pupils are disadvantaged and marginalised in the city's state schools because the cultural heritage of the curriculum is "European and Christian".
Muslim schooling is on the rise in the West. Anti-Muslim attitudes in state schools contribute to its growth. there are 240 to 250 private Islamic schools in the U.S and 188 Muslim schools in the United Kingdom and out of that 12 are state funded. The increasing enrolment in these schools reflects the religion’s growing number of Muslims and the desire of parents to shelter young Muslims from discrimination and discomfort they might encounter at state schools. But Islamic schools, like mosques and other Islamic institutions, can be viewed with distrust and even hostility. Jewish Schools in Israel teach Children about Evolution. They has a curious way of teaching it. They said the Jews were made by god and the Palestinians evolved from apes. On the other hand, Muslim schools teach children that human beings are from Adam and Eve(peace be upon them)

It’s very important … for Muslim kids to be able to go to a school that affirms who they are and allows the creative space to be comfortable being Muslim. In an Islamic school they have a feeling of pride …minus some of the other things they might encounter. The Islamic School League of America (ISLA), a non-profit that connects Muslim educators and institutions, estimates that 40,000 students are enrolled in Islamic schools in the United States, a 25 percent increase from 2006. Those numbers are expected to keep growing as new schools open and existing schools expand.

There are plenty of challenges to start-up schools, not least of which is persuading potential students and their parents that the school is academically up to snuff. If you’re dealing with immigrants, you’re dealing with post-colonial attitudes, in many of their countries of origin, The way to move upward was through Western schools. … (In the past) they saw Islamic schools as not where they should put their students if they want their kids to end up in Harvard or in Oxford. Bilingual Muslims children have a right, as much as any other faith group, to be taught their culture, languages.

A quarter of a million extra school places will be needed in England by autumn 2014 to meet rising demand, the National Audit Office (NAO) is warning. The spending watchdog said one in five primary schools in England was full or near capacity and there were signs of "real strain" on places. The demand for places has been driven by the birth rate rising more quickly than at any time since the 1950s.

The solution of this problem is very simple. There are hundreds of state and church schools where Muslim children are in majority. In my opinion all such schools may be opted out as Muslim Academies.

It will satisfy the needs of those native parents who do not want to send their children to those schools where the number of Muslim children is on the increase.

Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental period. There is no place for a non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school.

The Muslims don't want to integrate or abide by western law. Just because they don´t want to wear nude clothes or at least cloth that can show how big her breast are... so these people failed to integrate. Just because they don't like free sex, then these people failed again.. what a dirty Bush mind you have!

Speaking English does not promote integration into British, American and Australian societies, and broaden opportunities. English speaking Muslim youths are angry, frustrated and extremist, thanks to state schools with monolingual non-Muslim teachers and English language. English language is not only a lingua franca but also lingua frankensteinia. Human right are also covers linguistic right. Cultural and linguistic genocide are very common. British schooling is murdering community languages like Arabic, Urdu and others. English is today the world killer language. Linguistic genocide is a crime against humanity and British schooling is guilty of committing this crime. Language is not just a language. It defines one's culture, identity and consciousness. It defines how we think, communicate and express ourselves. The fact is the most South Asian Muslims have come to know Islam by way of Urdu, the children's alienation from the language that connects them the heritage of their parents and grand parents is disturbing. As a matter of fact, one has to get to know his mother tongue well if one is to master any other language.

 

['Abd-al Latif]

The source link seems to have expired or is incorrect. Can you re-post the source link please?

 

[observer]

Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental period. There is no place for a non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school.

The Muslims don't want to integrate or abide by western law.

So, to be clear, you want the state to fund schools exclusively for muslims which employ only muslims in order to educate muslims not to integrate at all into the state that's paying for that education?

Really? Nothing seems amiss with that idea?

 

[observer]

Speaking English does not promote integration into British, American and Australian societies, and broaden opportunities. English speaking Muslim youths are angry, frustrated and extremist, thanks to state schools with monolingual non-Muslim teachers and English language. English language is not only a lingua franca but also lingua frankensteinia. Human right are also covers linguistic right. Cultural and linguistic genocide are very common. British schooling is murdering community languages like Arabic, Urdu and others. English is today the world killer language. Linguistic genocide is a crime against humanity and British schooling is guilty of committing this crime. Language is not just a language. It defines one's culture, identity and consciousness. It defines how we think, communicate and express ourselves. The fact is the most South Asian Muslims have come to know Islam by way of Urdu, the children's alienation from the language that connects them the heritage of their parents and grand parents is disturbing. As a matter of fact, one has to get to know his mother tongue well if one is to master any other language.

And sorry, I missed this - it's racist for a school in England, where the language is English, to teach its lessons in English? Should every child from an immigrant background have the right to be educated in their mother tongue? In London, there are an estimated 170 nationalities represented in schools - should the government have to provide lessons in 170 languages paying attention to those 170 individual cultures?

It's just, I can't imagine moving to Spain, sending my kids to school there and then demanding that they change their lessons to teach my kids in English. That seems, well, ridiculous to be honest.

Am I missing something?

 

[ardianto]

The school does not teach Urdu language. The school only teaches Arabic language which is a religious language.

I notice you often enough write about Muslim schools, but I notice too you are complain about Urdu that is not taught in these Muslim school. And it makes me wonder. Are you talking about Muslim school or Pakistani school?.

Arabic is not only Islamic language, but also 'international' language of Muslims. Yes, Arabic, not Urdu.

Arabic is taught in madrasah in my place (Indonesia), English is taught in 'ordinary school'. Mandarin? No!, but I never heard complaint from Chinese community. They can learn Mandarin in language courses.

By the way, there is Indian school in my city which use English and Hindi as their language. But this is private school. They never ask fund from local govt.

 

[leilas]

you seem very ignorant. You seem to despise the west and the uk, well then why did you move here? Most of us immigrants left our countries because we wanted peace and justice, and the way i see it, if you hate the west that much just go back to your own country. There are already enough right winged national front people in the uk and we don't need more people like you giving them fuel for their anger

 

[Iftikhar]

The medium of instruction in a Muslim school is English. Muslim children must learn and be well versed in standard English to follow the National Curriculum and go for higher studies and research to sere humanity. At the same time they must learn and be well versed in Arabic, Urdu and other commu8nity languages to keep in touch with their cultural heritage and enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry.

Britain is in a Globalized world, Globalization has lifted millions out of Poverty and its currently responsible for the re-balancing of the worlds wealth, meaning that the West will inevitably get poorer as money rushes to all four corners of the world. So to all the people who are moaning about Globalization, do grow up. Its here, and here to stay. As for Immigration the fears are normally stroked by Political parties as an easy cheap shot, every one likes to beat up on immigrants, in particular every one's favourite punching bag Asylum seekers. oh well, haters gone hate. Many French protestants came to the East End as religious refugees - are their descendants English. Many Russian Jewish people later came to the East End as refugees from pogroms carried out under the Tsar. Are their descendants English? What is English?

A report by the Institute for Community Cohesion found that native parents were deserting some schools after finding their children out numbered by pupils from ethnic minorities. Schools in parts of England are becoming increasingly segregated. The study focused on 13 local authorities. Many of the schools and colleges are segregated and this was generally worsening over recent years. This is RACISM because British society is the home of institutional racism. My statement regarding Muslim schools where there is no place for non-Muslim child or a teacher is based on educational process and not on racism. Muslim children need Muslim teachers during their developmental periods. For higher studies and research, Muslim teacher is not a priority.

You better teach your children in your own schools and let migrant communities teach their children according to their needs and demands. British Establishment and society should concentrate on the evils of their own society and stop trying to change the way of life of Muslims. Muslim community does not want to integrate with the British society, indulging in incivility, anti-social behaviour, drug and knife culture, binge drinking, teenage pregnancies and abortion. Prince Charles, while visiting the first grant maintained Muslim school in north London, said that the pupils would be the future ambassadors of Islam. But what about thousands of others, who attend state schools deemed to be "sink schools"? In education, there should be a choice and at present it is denied to the Muslim community. In the late 80s and early 90s, when I floated the idea of Muslim community schools, I was declared a "school hijacker" by an editorial in the Newham Recorder newspaper in east London. This clearly shows that the British media does not believe in choice and diversity in the field of education and has no respect for those who are different.

A Muslim is a citizen of this tiny global village. He/she does not want to be notoriously monolingual Brit.

 

[Independent]

A report by the Institute for Community Cohesion found that native parents were deserting some schools after finding their children out numbered by pupils from ethnic minorities. Schools in parts of England are becoming increasingly segregated. The study focused on 13 local authorities. Many of the schools and colleges are segregated and this was generally worsening over recent years. This is RACISM because British society is the home of institutional racism.

It is truly amazing that you can in the same paragraph accuse British people of racism for avoiding certain schools, while demanding 100% segregation yourself.

And the best bit is, you seriously think you also have right to demand that the very people you despise should pay for it! Yes, I'll bet they'll be queuing up to support you! Would you like regular free flights back to Pakistan for all the kids too?

Please, don't ever speak to the media. You're a gift to English Defence League recruitment.

 

[جوري]

The school only teaches Arabic language which is a religious language.

Per Umar Ibn Ilkhtaab, learning Arabic will teach you wisdom, and judging from some of the very bizarre posts I see around here which are allegedly from Muslims, the problem would be avoided with some basic understanding of the Arabic language. You can speak Urdu at home, poetry is great and all, but Uloom alfiqh, tafsir, targheeb, tarheeb etc. etc. can only be understood and mustered in Arabic, it isn't just about the Quran, although that is reason enough!

 

[Iftikhar]

The sound knowledge of ones owns language would appear to help – not hinder the acquisition of a second language and bilingual children may even have cognitive advantages and that the ability to speak more than one language is going to be increasingly important for the world of the future. Therefore, Muslim children and young Muslims have potentially a major educational advantage, although sadly this is not being developed well at present. British policy makers now recognise bilingualism as an educational asset rather than a problem. Education plays a central role in the transmission of languages from one generation to the next. The teaching of mother tongues is essential in terms of culture and identity. Arabic is a religious language for the Muslims but for Pakistanis, Urdu is also essential for culture and identity. Blind Muslim children in Bradford are learning to read Arabic and Urdu Braille, by a blind teacher who travelled from Pakistan. Now blind Muslim children are not going to miss out on culture, religion, language and the social aspects and integration into their own community and identity.

Majority of Muslim children are from Pakistan, Bangladesh and India They need to learn Arabic and Urdu to keep in touch with their cultural roots and enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry. Urdu is a lingua frankua of the Muslim communities from the sub-continent. The young generation learn Urdu from Indian/Pakistani films, more than two dozens TV Channels and couple of radio stations broadcasting round the clock in Urdu/Hindi. They can speak and understand but are unable to read and write Urdu literature and poetry. Bilingualism and bilingual education should be part and parcel of each and every Muslim school. The problem is that most of Muslim schools are running by British educated Muslims who are made monolinguals by state schools. They do not feel the charm of bilingualism. They have never been given the chance to learn Arabic and Urdu along with English. An English man is proud of his language, culture and faith or no faith. In the same way a Muslim should be proud of his faith, languages and cultures. In my opinion at least three hours a day must be given for the teaching of English, Arabic, Urdu and other community languages from nursery level. The teaching of Standard English will help them to follow the National Curriculum and go for higher studies and research to serve humanity.

According to a recent report, 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 structured guidance.

 

[Independent]

The sound knowledge of ones owns language would appear to help – not hinder the acquisition of a second language and bilingual children may even have cognitive advantages and that the ability to speak more than one language is going to be increasingly important for the world of the future

If you were making a case for better language tuition then I'd agree with you - but that's not your real focus. You want apartheid style development with selection on racial grounds for ethnic Pakistani children because you yourself are wholly unable to adjust to living in the UK.

The UK is indeed poor for second language mastery and so is every other country with English as the primary language. That's because English is the de facto world language and especially the language of business. Everyone else needs to learn it, whereas English speakers have no need. In the UK's case, the fact that is an island with no land borders with foreign language cultures also makes a big difference. There simply hasn't been that pressure of necessity.

Also, there are many countries with multiple language groups so bilingualism is a local necessity.

I wonder why you are so agitated about the situation of ethnic Pakistanis in the UK education system, considering the far worse situation in Pakistan itself? Here's a few stats from Wikipaedia: 'Pakistan still has one of the highest illiteracy rates in the world and the second largest out of school population (5.1 million children) after Nigeria.' Female education is especially badly catered for, made worse in recent years due to the action of the Taliban: 'Some 400 private schools enrolling 40,000 girls have been shut down'.

Instead, it is the relatively tiny problem of one failing Muslim school in Derby that gets you angry. The Pakistani families emigrated to the UK by choice for a better life. Self inflicted social and educational apartheid makes a nonsense of that decision.

 

[Iftikhar]

Bradford has been named as having the second worst performing secondary schools in the country, according to Ofsted judgements. Figures published by the school’s inspector suggest 71 per cent of secondary school students in Bradford are attending schools deemed “not good enough” by the Government. While only five per cent in Bradford were officially labelled as “inadequate” by Ofsted, a massive 66 per cent attend schools which only reach “satisfactory”. In his first annual report published yesterday, Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw said he was “worried” about the number of pupils across the country attending schools “judged to be no better than satisfactory”.

The regional director for Ofsted, Mike Cladingbowl, told the Telegraph & Argus that children were not getting the education they deserved. He said it was not simply down to children’s backgrounds but the quality of school leadership was the biggest factor. Education chiefs and leaders in the district have warned that while more needs to be done, the report fails to show the improvement made in Bradford in recent years. Bradford West MP George Galloway said: “Good and outstanding are the very least we should expect – we want every school in the city to be at least a good standard and these results are completely and utterly shaming of consecutive councils and in particular the Labour one. “Since the first day I arrived in Bradford it has been a campaigning issue, determined to get the standards of schools in this city raised, to get every single one at least at the good standard. “It’s absolutely unacceptable that the majority of schools in this city are failing pupils and parents.”

The best solution of this problem is that those state schools where Muslim pupils are in majority should be designated as Muslim community schools under the management and control of Muslim educational Trusts. Newly arrived Muslim children can be educated in Muslim schools with Muslim teachers. They are not going to swamp state schools and they will not suffer from bullying and racism. They will feel at home with teachers speaking the same languages. This is a humane approach to the education of newly arrived children otherwise they will suffer educationally and emotionally like their predecessors. I hope Policy makers will look for alternatives to educate children of asylum seekers so that they could be easily accommodated and adjusted in the British society as equals.

Truth is always bitter. You must learn to listen to those who are culturally, linguistically and spiritually different. Education is should be more than providing pupils with the skills they need to get a job or enter university: we should not forget that we have a duty to pass on a body of knowledge through generations

British schools are not doing enough to tackle racism and promote race relations. Many teachers are unaware of racist attitudes amongst pupils. Schools have a responsibility not only to deal with racist incidents but also to prepare pupils for life in a multicultural and multiracial society.

Children from minority groups, especially the Muslims, are exposed to the pressure of racism, multiculturalism and bullying. They suffer academically, culturally and linguistically: a high proportion of children of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin are leaving British schools with low grades or no qualification.

In the 80s, the Muslim community in Britain started to set up Muslim schools. The first was the London School of Islamics which I established and which operating from 1981-86. Now there are 180 and only 12 are state funded.

The needs and demands of Muslim children can be met only through Muslim schools, but education is an expensive business and the Muslim community does not have the resources to set up schools for each and every child, and only eight Muslim schools have achieved grant maintained status.

This leaves a majority of children from Muslim families with no choice but to attend state schools. There are hundreds of state schools where Muslim pupils are in majority. In my opinion, all such schools may be opted out as Muslim Academies with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models.

Prince Charles, while visiting the first grant maintained Muslim school in north London, said that the pupils would be the future ambassadors of Islam. But what about thousands of others, who attend state schools deemed to be "sink schools"?

The time has come for the Muslim community - in the form of Islamic charities and trusts - to manage and run those state schools where Muslim pupils are in the majority. The Department for Education would be responsible for funding, inspection and maintenance.

The management would be in the hands of educated professional Muslims. The teaching of Arabic, Islamic studies, Urdu and other community languages by qualified Muslim teachers would help the pupils to develop an Islamic identity, which is crucial for mental, emotional and personality development.

In the east London borough of Newham, there are at least 10 state schools where Muslim pupils are in the majority.

The television newscaster Sir Trevor McDonald is a champion of introducing foreign modern languages even at primary level in schools in Britain. The Muslim community would like to see Arabic, Urdu and other community languages introduced at nursery, primary and secondary schools along with European languages so that Muslim pupils have these options.

In education, there should be a choice and at present it is denied to the Muslim community. In the late 80s and early 90s, when I floated the idea of Muslim community schools, I was declared a "school hijacker" by an editorial in the Newham Recorder newspaper in east London.
IA
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

 

[Independent]

Ok Iftikhar, I see from your link that this is your real name and that you are a professional polemicist. The rather grand-sounding London School of Islamics is essentially you. Most of what you have written here is copy and pasted from your website.

I see also that you are indeed already a gift to Islamophobes everywhere.