Muslim Academies

Muslim Academies

Academies bill will enable a radical overhaul of England's schools, giving every school the chance to convert to an academy and giving parents the right to create free schools outside the control of LAs.The new schools will drive up standards and the education would be in accordance with the needs and demands of the parents. It will help native Brits, Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities to set up their own schools for the education of their children. It is nothing to do with integration or segregation. Segregation already exists in British schoolings, it is not going to widen. President Obama supports free schools in America because they have benefitted the least well off the most. Educating children is the priority.



It is wrong to assert that a small unrepresentative group of Muslim activists tried to Islamises a state primary school in Woking. The silent majority of Muslim parents would like to send their children to state funded Muslim schools. They are not extremists who want to change of ethos of those schools where Muslim children are in majority. It is the democratic right of every Muslim parent to see that their children receive balanced education, so that when their children grow up, they do not find themselves cut off from their cultural roots and linguistic skills. It is a question of common sense, humanity and reason that bilingual Muslim children must be educated in state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods. The whole world believes that people who speak more than one language is a vital economic asset. Pupils who speak more than one language do not cause difficulties. It is the politicians and monolingual teachers who are the problems for bilingual pupils. Muslim school will help to cultivate the child into a healthy, fully flourishing individual with a passion for learning. 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.



Muslim schools are not only faith schools; they are more or less bilingual 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. State schools with monolingual teachers do not teach Standard English to Migrant children. Bilingual Muslim children learn English in the playgrounds and in the streets. They speak street language with its own grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. The teachers let them speak the same accent in the classroom. They have no courage to stop them or correct them. This is one of the main reasons why one third of children have difficulties with reading when they leave primary schools. Majority of such children are Muslims. In other European countries and in the sub-continent argot and slang are not allowed into the classroom. In Britain primary school teachers do not feel that it’s their role to interfere with self-expression in any shape or form. They encourage children to read poems and stories written in ethnic dialects.


Muslim faith schools are more or less bilingual schools. Priority will be given to the teaching of Standard English, Arabic, Urdu and other community languages. All Muslim children will learn and be well versed in Standard English and Quranic Arabic and at the same time they will learn and be well versed in one of the community language to keep in touch with their cultural roots and enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry. Majority of children will learn Urdu language because it is a lingua franca of the migrants from the sub-continent. And majority of British Muslims are from Pakistan and their national language is Urdu.

Iftikhar Ahmad

The question I have in regard to Islamic schools concerns what is being taught in them. What do these schools teach about tolerance? About the role of women, about government policy, about contributing to society?
What will the children of such schools be thinking in 10-15 years?
I am sure that with any religious education there are schools which will make a positive impact ("do unto others", "obey and respect the law", "love your neighbor" etc). But what if the schools are teaching religious law above secular law and norms?
What do these schools teach? Is it the role of good local government to check and to shut down schools which promote that which is contrary to a civilized society?
I would hate to see our friend... England... become a place like some in the world where hatred and violence is the norm.

I retired to Indonesia and know many teachers who teach in Public schools and Muslim schools. Muslim schools are for kids too poor to go to Public school.

I suspect your exposure to Muslim activities are of the hard-line, "fundamental" Muslim who see modern Western society of polluting their traditional Muslim lifestyle. The vast majority of Muslims do not think that way.

The Muslim religion is - as it is taught in school - focuses on ritual. They call it the 5 pillars. 1) pray 5 times a day, 2) give money to the poor, 3) men go to the Mosque on Friday, 4) honor the traditions of the month of fasting (Ramadan), 5) make a pilgrimage to Mecca if you are able. A second tier of beliefs are also taught. They include, don't eat pig, don't drink alcohol, don't commit adultery, and others.

A third tier of beliefs are included at a lower level - things we might call Christian ethics, such as don't steal, follow civil law, respect your elders, etc.

In school, religion is taught 1 hour a day and mostly focuses on tradition and history of Islam. The rest of the time is a normal curriculum of math, language, science, etc.

Now in the Mosque, just like our churches and synagogs, more of the hard core religion is taught. Things like sin and devils, heaven and hell. Also, Islam has been a religion engaged in war for most of its 1500 year existence. Most of the enemy has been different sects, such as Sunni and Shia. It is not surprising that the Mosques talk about the need to protect there sect from any aggressors.

Thank you very much...

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 Arabic, Urdu and other community languages to keep in touch with their cultural heritage 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 notoriously monolingual Brits. British schooling has been forcing them to become notoriously monolingual Brits. It is a fact that British schooling is the home of institutional racism and British teachers are chicken racist. It is a crime against humanity to deprive a child form his/her mother tongue. Arabic is a religious language and all Muslims must learn and be well versed in Arabic to recite and understand the Holy Quran.Ed is very proud of his comprehensive school because students were speaking 60 languages. After leaving school, all those who spoke different languages, could only speak English because there is no arrangement for them to learn their own languages at school. Even teachers discouraged them to speak their language in school. British schooling regards bilingualism as a problem and not an asset. Sadiq was the product of British schooling. He is very proud that he is unable to speak, read and write Urdu language. I do not blame him. It is the fault of the school.

Legally, the state has an obligation to respect the rights of parents to ensure that 'education and teaching(of their children) is in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.'
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 and demands. 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.
Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental period' otherwise, they would be lost in the Western JUNGLE.There is no place for a non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school. At higher level of education, a Muslim teacher is not a priority.
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.
Iftikhar Ahmad
London School of Islamics Trust
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

A British english speaking public school is under no obligation to teach Arabic. It's hard enough to educate the masses in one uniform national language. If Muslims want their kids to speak Arabic then teach them in the home, mosque or a privately funded Islamic school.

Most people who immigrate to another country want to bcome citizens of that country and intigrate into that society.

We live in a shrunken world and millions of people are on the move; one of
our biggest challenges is how we learn to live in proximity to difference –
different skin colours, different beliefs and different way of life.
According to a study by COMPAS, Muslims born and educated were given the
impression of outsiders. The perception among Muslims is that they are
unwelcome in Britain is undermining efforts to help them integrate into
wider society. Most of them say that they have experienced race
discrimination and religious prejudice. Muslims and Islam is promoted a
fundamentalist and separatist by the western elite, which have negative
impact on community and social cohesion. The number of racist incidents
occurring in London Borough of Redbridge’s schools have reached their
highest levels since record begin.

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.

For someone to experience racial abuse is terribly hurtful. It is a feeling
that is indescribable. Unless you have been a victim of it you will never
know what it feels like. So to except it or to grow a spine like someone has
just suggested, is impossible. Many people who are victims never report it
or even talk about. It is sometimes even more painful to talk about it.
Therefore most people choose to sweep it under the carpet. Sadly.

People are people, regardless of where they were born, what colour their
skin is, or whatever religion. All deserve respect. Tolerance in
Sweden/Britain is an illusion. The problem isn't immigrants not adapting to
British culture, it's Brits showing much disrespect and scorn to those who
are of any immigrant background. even if an immigrant was well versed in
English, knew the customs etc. would they still get employment? No. Would
Brits treat them as a decent human? No. So why would they want to assimilate
into a culture that is constantly tearing them down? Multiculturalism is not
about integration but about cultural plurality. It is not about separation
but about respect and the deepening awareness of Unity in Diversity. Each
culture will maintain its own intrinsic value and at the same time would be
expected to contribute to the benefit of the whole society.

A man is a product of his culture, language and faith. State funded Muslim
schools with bilingual Muslim teachers would help bilingual Muslim children
to develop their cultural, linguistic and spiritual identities before they
are exposed to other cultures and faiths. A Muslim is a citizen of this tiny
global village. He/she does not want to become notoriously monolingual Brit.
Children that can speak more than one languages do better overall in
learning and it will help them excel in a job when they are older. Only an
idiot would think that being bi/trilingual is a bad thing. I think its great
to be surrounded by foreign languages

I set up the first Muslim school in 1981 in Stratford London and now there
are round about 188 Muslim schools and only 12 are state funded. I would
like to see each and every Muslim child in a State funded Muslim school. I
hope one day my dream would come true.

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.

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". Now Hindu, Sikh and Black
communities are thinking of setting up their own schools with their own
teachers. Hindu and Sikh community has already in the process of setting up
schools for their children.

Muslim schools provide an education in accordance with the Muslim beliefs
and values, such as providing single-sex schooling after puberty. They are
thus a response to the danger of absorption into the dominant culture.
Muslim schools are for Muslim children of every racial background. There is
no place of a non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school.

A growing number of British-born Muslims and especially Pakistanis are
suffering from psychological problems and apathy and are either turning to
crime or radical Islam. Majority of British Muslims are from Pakistan. A
growing number of young Pakistanis feel they are ‘second class citizens and
will remain so. They are addressed as outsiders – as ‘immigrant, **** or
Muslim’ and increasingly shut out or discriminated against. The hardening of
attitudes towards Muslims in British society is also having an effect.

I have been campaigning for state funded Muslim schools for the last 35
years because British schooling is the home of institutional racism and
British teachers are chicken racists. British teachers are not role models
for Muslim children during their developmental periods.

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 10% 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.

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. Bilingual Muslim children need bilingual Muslim teachers as role
model during their developmental periods. There is no place for a non-Muslim
child or a teacher in a Muslim school.

This is a little off-the-point, but most Muslim children learn to pronounce and read the Arabic script as it is written in the Koran. However, except for some standard phrases, they do not understand what they are reading. So they are not learning a language, they are pronouncing the words from the text, but not understanding what they are saying.

Mohammed said the Koran must be read aloud in Arabic, and translated text most not be used in a religious ceremony. When I was young the Catholics used Latin in their church services - not English. That changed.

Surely you are not suggesting we allow ARABIC to be spoken and read in our schools? I am completely 100% against that bloody, ridiculous idea. If the Muzzies wish their children to speak Arabic, then let them do so IN ARAB STATES! Not a single nation in the West is Arabic, therefore the need for the language does not exist, nor shall it ever exist, and it had BETTER NOT ever exist lest I deem it necessary to take up arms.

Psst, you DO understand that much of our language is derived from the Latin, yes?

DUH?

The solution to end racial riots is to KEEP THE OTHER RACES OUT OF BRITAIN! Simple, really. Britain belongs to the British. Never forget it. I state this and I am unapologetic about it. Assimilate, or get the fuck out.

Who wants to bet the Muzzie cheerleader is himself a Muzzie??? Of course he wants Islam advanced in a country that does not belong to his culture! After all, it is to HIS advantage! Run him out, I say!

I was merely making the point that Muslims are not bilingual because they recite prayers using Arab syllables. I am not advocating anything.

If not to rant, then what is the fucking point of being here in the first place, you moron?

You are too stupid to realise you made my point for me. He was making a discussion, whilst you claim it was a rant simply because you do not agree with what was said.

Most Muslims in Britain are of Pakistani descent and they do not speak or learn Arabic at Islamic faith schools and some state schools are majority Muslim because there aren't forced integration measures in Britain, which encourages further cultural segregation. In my view, Asian or Muslim pupils can get a better education at majority-white schools but most minority students do not have the option to attend posh public schools where middle-class Britons study because tuition fees are too expensive.

In British English, the term public school refers to exclusive private schools such as Eaton and Harrow and public schools in American English are called state schools to avoid confusion and all children in England are entitled to a free place at a state school in their catchment areas.