In its latest misguided policy, the British Government is planning to send Muslim soldiers into schools to challenge Muslim children about their patriotism rather than address the abuse, attacks and victimisation suffered following the Woolwich murder.
The Muslim News Editor, Ahmed J Versi, warned that the initiative has again failed the Muslim community at a time when mosques were being targeted with terrorist bombs. Instead the Government is giving more ammunition to right-wing extremists by treating Muslim children as potential traitors to Britain.
“It is outrageous that the Government is sending Muslim soldiers to mainstream schools to tell Muslim students in front of non-Muslim pupils that they are not British patriots. The Government is not considering the consequences of this Islamophobic action,” Versi said.
“Muslim pupils will feel they are second class citizens. Non-Muslim pupils will look with suspicion at fellow Muslim pupils, as traitors, as anti-British. Muslim pupils are already suffering Islamophobic abuse from non-Muslim pupils, as supporters of terrorism.”
Prime Minister, David Cameron, has already being under fire from the Muslim community for failing to condemn last month’s series of terrorist bombing targeting mosques during the unprecedented outbreak of Islamophobic attacks following the killing of drummer Lee Rigby in May.
“It is unbelievable that Prime Minister Cameron, who told The Muslim News during his visit to a mosque in Manchester earlier this month that the next meeting of extremism taskforce the Government will discuss the attacks on Muslims. Now he appears to have changed his mind and instead of dealing with the victimisation, the taskforce will apparently discuss about sending Muslim soldiers to schools to challenge patriotism of Muslim students,” Versi said.
“All surveys since 9/11 and more so since July 7 London bombings show that Muslims feel more British, identify more with British institutions including the armed forces than the population as a whole. Still the Government is looking at the Muslim community with suspicion.”
The plan is to be included in preparations to mark the centenary of the First World War. As part of coordinated events, some 650 Muslim military personnel are to be sent to schools to convince youngsters that it is possible to follow Islam and be a patriotic Briton.
A spokesperson for Downing Street told denied that Muslim pupils will be targeted but was not able to provide information on the initiative.
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Khalid RoccaAugust 29, 2013
I always recall a comment some years ago now by a then Muslim politician (insha Allah I am not mistaken) who stated that, ‘We are living beneath an umbrella of Kufr’!
SBAugust 29, 2013
What a biased report! This clearly lacks reasoning and facts and as such is likely to cause further damage to the already fragile relationship between the armed forces and the muslim community. It is a fact that children in schools need to be reminded of the role the armed forces play in our society. In respect of muslim school children something needs to counteract the negativity they are exposed to by many inthe muslim community.
My husband is in the army and my children were left adrift when their father was posted to Afghanistan. Not only did they need family support to understand the consequences of this but they also required additional help to overcome the abuse and discrimination they faced from their muslim classmates! This just added to their confusion!
Its not just about agreeing with any foreign policy on overseas intevention/peacekeeping but about understanding the role played by our forces and providing the support to those that do. Narrow minded views like the one expressed inthis report only add to widen the divide between our communities.
Iftikhar AhmadAugust 30, 2013
Dogs and pigs are unclean animals in the eyes of Muslims but west regards them as clean. This is one of the reason why Muslim parents would like to send their children to Muslim schools with Muslim teachers as role models. Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with 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. 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. As a Muslim I’m taught that I have 2 kinds of brother, brothers in Islam, and brothers in humanity, that’s why I love everyone unconditionally. I believe in the truth and the truth is that Islam does not allow the deaths of innocents and you’re cherry-picking and misinterpreting and taking out of context.
IA
PaddyOctober 19, 2013
Britain is a Christian country, based on the bible. There is no place for islam here or state funded schools.