Elham Asaad Buaras
A teacher at a Bedfordshire-based academy has been suspended after using a picture of terrorist leader Osama Bin Laden to portray the Prophet Muhammad in a religious studies lesson.
Pupils were sitting in a Religious Studies lesson when they viewed the image in a PowerPoint presentation on February 25.
All Saints Academy in Dunstable, outside Luton, has apologised and suspended the teacher after receiving complaints from pupils. The academy also vowed to investigate the incident.
It is not clear how the photograph of the al-Qaeda leader ended up in the PowerPoint presentation.
In Islam, it is deeply offensive to depict the Prophet. A concerned Year 10 pupil brought the use of the image to the academy’s attention.
In a statement, issued on its website, the academy apologised for the incident and said it ‘recognises the deep hurt and distress that has been caused to the Muslim community, and many other people of faith, by the totally inappropriate images that were used as part of a recent RS lesson.‘
Adding that ‘Not only was it offensive to portray an image of the Prophet Muhammad, but the image that was used was that of Osama Bin Laden, a terrorist leader, which further added to the deep insult.
‘Upon learning about this incident from a concerned student, the member of staff was immediately suspended by the principal pending a detailed and swift investigation, which will follow the academy’s Disciplinary Procedures. It would be against the terms of that procedure either to identify the individual concerned or to comment any further until the outcome is determined.’
The academy will also commission a wider external review of the circumstances of the case. Social media users have reacted angrily to the school’s statement online, asking it to explain how the image came to be used.
In a statement to The Muslim News, the Luton Council of Mosques said, ‘We appreciate the Bishop of Bedford and leaders of the Church of England locally for reaching out to the Councils of Mosques in Luton to unequivocally condemn the use of such Islamophobic imagery and acknowledge the distress and hurt that this has caused to the Muslim community.’
The statement continued, ‘We have been in dialogue with those responsible for the governance of the school. We are reassured to hear action has been taken to suspend the individual responsible and await the outcome of the investigation.’
