Forum Topic

A Future for Muslim Schools

Muslim children not only need halal meat or Eid Holidays but they need state funded Muslim schools with Muslim teachers as role models during their development period also. There is no place for a non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school. The schools must satisfy the spiritual, moral, social, and cultural needs of Muslim pupils. State schools with non-Muslim monolingual teachers are not in a position to satisfy their needs. A good school is not just a knowledge factory or a conveyor belt for churning out exam passes - it is a community, a family. A community is held together by common values and principles. It is a common saying that British schooling is upholding British values of integration, respect, tolerance and equality. But all minority groups find British schooling is the home of institutional racism and British teachers are chicken racist. This is one of the many reason why they would like to see their children attending their own schools with their own teachers. Muslim community started setting up school in the 80s and I set up the first Muslim school in 1981 and now there are 180 Muslim schools and only 12 are state funded. Sikh and Hindu communities have set up their own schools. Now Black community is thinking of setting up schools with their own teachers.Western media and politicians have been trying their best to propagate against Muslim schools. Muslim schools are even called Osama bin Laden Academies by a Teaching Union. Only less than 5% of Muslim children attend Muslim schools while more than 95% are in state schools to be mis-educated and de-educated by non-Muslim monolingual teachers. The demand for state funded Muslim schools is in accordance with the law of the land. Muslim community is not asking for any favour. Muslim community pays all sorts of taxes and is less burden on social services. Church leaders say it is no longer "appropriate" for them to run Sacred Heart RC Primary School which has just six Christian pupils. The school in Blackburn, Lancs, could be handed to the nearby Masjid-e-Tauheedul mosque.The Muslim community has been passing through a phase of fourth Crusades. The battleground is the field of education, where the young generation will be educated properly with the Holly Quran in one hand and Sciences in other hand to serve the British society and the world at large. A true Muslim is a citizen of the world, which has become a small global village. We are going to prepare our youth to achieve that objective in the long run. A true Muslim believes in Prophet Moses and the Prophet Jesus and without them one cannot be a Muslim. My suggestion is that in all state, independent and Christian based school special attention should be given to the teaching of Comparative Religion and Islam should be taught by qualified Muslim Teachers to make the children aware the closeness of Islam to Christianity and Judaism which will help them to think about Islam, as “A Pragmatic and Modern Way of Life,” during their life time.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 have 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)The demand for Muslim schools comes from parents who want their children a safe environment with an Islamic ethos. Parents see Muslim schools where children can develop their Islamic Identity where they won't feel stigmatised for being Muslims and they can feel confident about their faith. Muslim schools are working to try to create a bridge between communities. There is a belief among ethnic minority parents that the British schooling does not adequately address their cultural needs. Failing to meet this need could result in feeling resentment among a group who already feel excluded. Setting up Muslim school is a defensive response. State schools with monolingual teachers are not capable to teach English to bilingual Muslim children. Bilingual teachers are needed to teach English to such children along with their mother tongue. According to a number of studies, a child will not learn a second language if his first language is ignored. “A good grasp of one’s mother tongue is an essential base for a child who then has to get to grips with the language of their host country,” reckons Amelia Lambelet of the Fribourg Institute of Multilingualism. Therese Salzmann, an expert in multilingualism at the Swiss Institute of Youth and Media, agrees. “The teaching of mother tongues reinforces self-confidence and gives the child a feeling of security.” She adds that “taking account of a child’s double cultures is a determining factor in their social integration and professional success.”It is absurd to believe that Muslim schools, Imams and Masajid teach Muslim children anti-Semitic, homophobic and anti-western views. It is dangerously deceptive and misleading to address text books and discuss them out of their historical, cultural and linguistic context. It is not wrong to teach children that Jews are committing the same cruelty in Palestine what German did to them before or during Second World War. It is not wrong to teach children that anti-social behaviour, drinking, drugs, homosexuality, sex before marriage, teenage pregnancies and abortions are western values and Islam is against all such sins. This does not mean that Muslim schools teach children to hate westerners, Jews and homosexuals.British society must learn to respect and tolerate those who are different. God has created diverse human beings to live in this tiny global village of one family. Creation by its very nature is diverse with different species, different communities, different cultures and languages. These differences represent the beauty and wonder but diversity is sometimes not fully appreciated, resulting in all sorts of clashes. The British society and Establishment must learn to respect and accommodate others, as if in a family. 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. A study by Bristol University reveals that a high level of racial segregation in Oldham schools and tension between communities resulted in recent riots in 2001. The solution is that those schools where Muslim children are majority, may be designated as Muslim community schools. The native parents do not want their children to be educated along with migrant children. As soon as they find that the number of other children are on the increase, they remove their children to those schools where native children are in majority.During colonial days, British did not follow local customs or culture. They didn't exactly "go native". They even forced the native Americans and native Australian to adopt all the evils of their culture and customs. They are still the underdogs of American and Australian societies. At least Australian Prime Minister apologised to the natives for their evil deeds. Brits living in Spain and France don't even bother learning the language of the new adopted country. Frankly suggesting that people don't want to become "British" they should move elsewhere is extremely irritating. Immigrants are in UK because they are needed, it was never an act of charity. Without migration, British economy and society will bleed to death. British culture and customs will undoubtedly change as it has for millennium due to immigration. I am not quite sure why Brits would be worried about that. 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. Muslim schools, in spite of meager resources, have excelled to a further extent this year, with couple of schools achieving 100% A-C grades for five or more GCSEs. They beat well resourced state and independent schools in Birmingham and Hackney. Muslim schools are doing better because a majority of the teachers are Muslim. The pupils are not exposed to the pressures of racism, multiculturalism and bullying. There are hundreds of state primary and secondary schools where Muslim pupils are in majority. In my opinion all such schools may be opted out to become Muslim Academies. This mean the Muslim children will get a decent education. Muslim schools turned out balanced citizens, more tolerant of others and less likely to succumb to criminality or extremism. Muslim schools give young people confidence in who they are and an understanding of Islam’s teaching of tolerance and respect which prepares them for a positive and fulfilling role in society. Muslim schools are attractive to Muslim parents because they have better discipline and teaching Islamic values. Children like discipline, structure and boundaries. Bilingual Muslim children need Bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods, who understand their needs and demands.IALondon School of Islamics Trust

Iftikhar Ahmad ● 3977d6 Comments

No, the country does not need any schools which are exclusive to any one faith.  Actually, I am opposed to any state schools have a religious bias. "Truth is always bitter" - How arrogant.  You may think it is true - that doesn't make it so.  I think that it is true that I am young and energetic.  My birth certificate say I'm not.  You believe in the Koran - which part?  The "old testament" part or the more modern part.  If you believe in the "old testament" part as being true then you would be breaking the law of this country and nearly every other country.You are doing no service to Islam by being so disrespectful of those who don't agree with you.  It saddens me that Muslim's pushing views such as these are doing huge damage to all those Muslim's I have worked with and know.  You are not representative of the majority.

Jane Eades ● 3949d

Andrew, my children have attended both non-denominational and faith schools. The difference in the religious education lessons in them are very nuanced and the time spent on them was about the same.It would be criminal not to start encouraging children to think about important questions about the nature of existence so you will always have some lessons in any school curriculum that look at lot like the current Religious Education syllabus. You could rebrand it 'philosophy' but ultimately you cannot avoid discussing the existence of God and the meaning of life in such lessons which necessarily has to have a religious angle.As an agnostic, I remain perplexed why so many people think that the biggest problem with our state education system is the most successful part of it. There isn't really such a thing as some neutral belief structure that we can pass onto children - there will always be bias in anything that is taught. Iftikhar, I don't think my response to you reflected any rise in blood pressure. I think I raise some legitimate questions which you haven't answered.

David Parker ● 3969d

Thanks for reading my post with interest. Truth is always bitter, that is the reason of your increase in blood pressure. You better read my posts calmly.Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with 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. This is purely a question of educational process and nothing to do with racism or segregation. There are 188 Muslim schools and none of them have any non-Muslim child. Non -Muslim parents do not want to send their children to Muslim schools. Church schools have Muslim children because there is hardly any Christian child in their catchment area. In the 70s I took my children to a church school but they were refused admission.

Iftikhar Ahmad ● 3969d

I am going to annoy a few people here, but here goes.I actually do have a problem with Muslim schools. But I also have a problem with Christian, Sikh, Jewish and any faith based schools. A far better option would be to remove any form of faith based instruction in schools. You don't need to be a Christian to teach chemistry, a Muslim to teach maths or Jewish to teach geography. The construct that decent values are the preserve of those who follow a god are arrogant at best and offensive at worst. If you removed all religious teaching from schools you could then finish lessons half an hour early, with faith teaching an option that took place after school in the respective places of worship (or even with peripatetic teachers within the schools). Those who wanted to opt out could do eg science, sports or drama clubs. With zero religious instruction then 'minority' religion practitioners would not feel the Christian religion was being forced upon them. I am in one area of agreement with Mr Iftikhar - it is very hard to avoid Christian teaching in schools. Sadly there are no atheist academies. I would rather my children learnt facts rather than fables.

Andrew Thomas ● 3971d

I have read your post with some interest and an increase in my blood pressure, Mr Ahmad, which I'm sure was your aim. "There is no place for a non-Muslim child or teacher in a Muslim school".  I'm sure many, many Christians in what is actually a Christian country feel that they agree, as probably do thousands of Jews and Catholics, that all religions would be best served by their little ones being educated by their standards of behaviour, demanded by their religion, to best to serve their God.I also agree with and like your thoughts that school should be viewed as community, that's a good value to have … certainly when I was a child I regarded it as a happy place to go and that those teaching me and learning with me were part of my extended family.  You are correct, a community is held together by common values and principles, that is the start of such, but a close, growing community is also held together, and finds renewed strength, in tolerance, communication, learning, sharing of ideas, understanding and kindness to one another, which you do not appear to be promoting.I'm sorry to hear that "… all minority groups find British schooling is the home of institutional racism and British teachers are chicken racist.".  I find those comments totally offensive, and I think you should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself for generalising and insulting to such a degree.  From the good things you have told us you have done, which seem admirable, I would have thought these nasty verbalisations and tactics were beneath you, but evidently, and sadly, not.  I'm sure that if anyone else were to decide that absolutely all Muslim teachers were chicken racist and post that here or anywhere else, you would take great offence, as indeed I have done by your rudeness … and no, I'm not a teacher, but it is highly objectionable to me that you should be taking it upon yourself to dictate what the faults of all non-Muslims are, as though Muslims have none.  If such horrible worries do really exist in the Muslim community, Muslim children could always be taught at home as many other children are."British society must learn to respect and tolerate those who are different … The British society and Establishment must learn to respect and accommodate others …".You use the word "must" quite a lot.  Could you please outline what British Muslims "must" do in order to be happier within the environment in this country which you seem so unhappy about.  "This is RACISM because British society is the home of institutional racism.".  Yet more insults - they're not designed to enamour you to people, you know, none of us, including yourself I am sure, is beyond judgement.  "British culture and customs will undoubtedly change as it has for millennium due to immigration.  I am not quite sure why Brits would be worried about that.".  Well if British folks shouldn't be worried about change in culture and customs, why are you?  I perhaps do not have Mr Parker's grasp of all matters you have raised, his post being one which I found eloquent and knowledgeable and which I applaud, so mine is a more emotional response to what certainly comes across as an attack upon anyone who is non-Muslim, but as you yourself are quite evidently highly emotional, I am sure you will forgive me for that."Muslim community does not want to integrate with the British society …"  -  pardon me for asking, but have you actually been elected the leader of all Muslims in this country?  I would have difficulty believing that feeling were true of all Muslims.Not all people are bad, Mr Ahmad.  Some have difficulties, some lose their way, some are nasty evil people, that cannot be denied, but I truly do not believe any one of those traits is helped by those people being brow-beaten, bullied and brain-washed.  We are not all bad, there are billions of good, decent, honourable, God-fearing and law-abiding non-Muslims sharing the planet with you, and they do not have to be clones of you or reach the height of your teachings to be decent people in the eyes of their Lord or their fellow man.  Our God made us all different.As a side issue, a Muslim neighbour attempted to attack me in my own home, the reason being that I would not obey a command he issued to me via another.  You surely don't advocate men ordering around women they do not know, and beating and kicking their property door, trying to break it down and screaming death threats if the woman, a stranger of another race and religion, does not obey?  Or do you …?  He later beat his wife senseless but her screams had prompted a neighbour to call the police, and he had to be removed in handcuffs.  Is that truly a good Muslim man upholding the standards of decent behaviour you are promoting teaching children, which you are implying non-Muslims do not have?  I personally assisted in the issue of another Muslim male here beating his wife and terrorising his children, one of whom, begging for help of another Muslim family, had the doors locked in his face by them and was left shut out and alone.  This British (actually I prefer English, but I am old fashioned), Christian took time out of her life and stood up in a courtroom for that battered woman to protect her from his abuse, whilst other Muslims denied her or her children any sanctity or help whatsoever.  She's a Muslim, and I would still go out of my way for her because she is a kind, good, devoted mother and religious woman whom I admire and respect.  She has manners, decency, a good heart and she is open to both discussing her beliefs and also listening to those of others; whether she accepts them or not, she can debate, and that means that her views do not come across as ranting and fanatical (as some people's do), but refined, educated and worth hearing, absorbing and thinking about.  She offers the same respect to others.  Have you ever done anything to protect a non-Muslim?  Do you regard any to be a friend you can trust?If not, sir, then I would respectfully suggest that you are missing out on one of the most wondrous gifts that we all, as humans, have been blessed with.

Jacqui Murray ● 3975d

I have no problem with the concept of Muslim schools. The early indication from the limited number that already exist is that the children at them do well academically. That should be the over-riding concern.The argument that racial or religious segregation of schools leads to a racially or religiously divided society also doesn't bear much scrutiny. What have seen in many areas is that minorities move out of an area where another ethnic group predominates because they don't want their children to be in a minority in their school. This leads to geographical segregation. Where there are a number of schools to serve different parts of the community, the community remains more diverse.What can't happen is that Muslim schools get the free ride that is being demanded here. The bar is set quite high for the funding of faith schools in the state system and it should remain so. What I learnt recently was that currently faith schools are not actually given money by the Government. The taxpayer funds 90% of the maintenance of the school buildings on land owned by the Churches through a loan which becomes immediately repayable in full should the building cease to be a school. The 10% remains a significant amount of money for the congregation to fund but they have to do so. That is why the CofE and the Catholic Church have ended up funding schools to which almost none of their adherents go to. It is a significant drain on their coffers but they can't afford to close them or convert them into Muslim schools because the loans would become repayable.The Christian religions enjoy and advantage in the business of education because of their institutional nature. This means they can cross fund schools which need support and they have an infrastructure to manage and administrate schools. Doctrinal issues are already agreed upon.None of this applies in the Muslim faith where there is a limited bureaucracy and significant divisions on doctrinal and ethnic lines. Would the school teach the sunni or shi'ite version of the faith? Would a Somali family be happy to send their child to a school that was dominated by Bengalis? Muslim communities have overcome these difficulties to set up their schools under the old 'faith' system and they should be applauded for doing so but when things have been made easier through the 'free school' route there have immediately been some disasters because the school lacked organisation and cohesion. The Muslim community should be required like all others to show their commitment to the education of their children in the way they wish by acquiring their own premises and funding its maintenance. If they can't they should accept the perfectly decent education their children can receive in existing state schools.

David Parker ● 3976d