Great Britain: Fury over plan to let imams teach the Koran in state schools

The Daily Mail (U.K.) ^ | March 25, 2008 | LAURA CLARK

[Stoat]

Also:

Preachers ‘should visit all schools’ - Times Online

 

Preachers ‘should visit all schools’

 

Alexandra Frean, Education Editor

 

Imams, rabbis, priests and preachers from other faiths could be invited into state schools to provide religious instruction to pupils who want it, under controversial reforms to faith education.

The National Union of Teachers (NUT) is also recommending that schools provide “private prayer space” for pupils of all faiths, recognise the holy days of world religions, allow school uniforms and food to reflect “religious requirements” and turn the daily act of a worship in schools into “inclusive school assemblies”.

The radical proposals represent a calculated gamble by the union to come up with a policy that will both satisfy growing demands from Muslims and other faith groups for an increased number of religious state schools, and avoid what it regards as the negative impact of educating children from different religions in separate schools.

 

 

Steve Sinnott, NUT general secretary, said that the spread of faith schools threatened to undermine community relations. “There will be real benefits to all our communities and youngsters if we could find space within schools for pupils who are Roman Catholics, Anglican, Methodist, Jewish, Sikh and Muslim to have space for more religious instruction in schools,” he said.

He made it clear that he was proposing that schools offer religious instruction in particular faiths, rather than the kind of unbiased teaching about religions found in RE lessons. About 7,000 state schools in England are faith schools – roughly one in three of the total – educating 1.7 million pupils. The majority are either Church of England or Roman Catholic schools – and only a tiny minority cater for other faiths.

The NUT policy document, In Good Faith, suggests that local authorities should take control of state school admissions, and yet they should “neither privilege or discriminate against children on the basis of the beliefs or practices of their parents”.

It was adopted formally by delegates at the NUT’s annual conference in Manchester, although many of the 2,000 members present appeared unaware of its contents. Several were dismayed at the suggestion that religious instruction should be provided in school.

One delegate from the West Midlands said: “Religious instruction should take place in churches or mosques, not in school.” Religious and education leaders gave the proposals a mixed welcome.

Tahir Alam, of the Muslim Council of Britain, welcomed the suggestion that imams should be invited into schools to provide religious instruction and the suggestion that school uniform policies should allow for “religious requirements”. He said that he was dealing with a case of an A-level student who had grown a beard for religious reasons and had been excluded from school for breaching uniform policy.

But John Dunford, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, questioned the feasibility of monitoring religious instruction delivered by outside preachers. “I would have thought this plan could compound the problem if the people coming into schools were offering extreme views,” he said.

[Always Right]

NUT - at least the organization is properly named.

[Retired Greyhound]

OMG! Only because if it is Muslims.

[DonaldC]

Incredible.

[weegee]

Is this under the guise of a “new” openness to “all” religions to mask a push to get Islam into schools?

Or has such study and such visits by religious figures always been there?

[Stoat]

FYI

[Slapshot68]

So when will the Islamic crescent be emblazoned on the Union Jack?

[DonaldC]

LOL... NUT= National Union of Teachers. I like that acronym.

[polymuser]

Time for Christian kids to demand the same in American schools.

[blam]

WHITES FLEEING BRITAIN

"240,000 Britons in Mass Evacuation Every Year"

[Wavrnr10]

Let them practice their religion away from the state run schools just like everyone else does. You don’t see Catholic’s practicing religion in state schools. If they want it that way let CAIR or any of the many other terrorist funds pay for it and make them go to seperate schools to learn it.

[Kakaze]

The mission isn't disguised anymore, the liberals that hate everything about the west and their personal guilt at living well are determined to kill our society.

I don't think these people are stupid. I do think they are mentally ill, they have to know that the cult they are pushing will destroy them first. Islam will single them out and kill them.

They are cowards, consumed by their personal hate and their hatred of anyone happy, that they will work to bring about the destruction of us all.

[blam]

More Demands From Islam

[Emperor Palpatine]

This is about the only thing that satanic evil book called the Koran is good for....

[Stoat]

Is this under the guise of a “new” openness to “all” religions to mask a push to get Islam into schools?

Or has such study and such visits by religious figures always been there?

The text of the articles as well as the apoplectic outrage evidenced by many posting comments at the original article pages suggest that this is a radical new plan, and many feel that this is 'all about Islam' despite the 'all-inclusive' language used by the NUT.

Is this under the guise of a “new” openness to “all” religions to mask a push to get Islam into schools?

Or has such study and such visits by religious figures always been there?

[Emperor Palpatine]

This guy is brilliant.

Maybe there’s hope for England after all if there’s more like him.

[weegee]

The Union Jack will have new colors:

Red, Green, Black, and White.

[Stoat]

Excellent, thanks very much for posting.

I trust you've seen this one as well?

YouTube - Appeasing Islam

Mr. Condell has several more essential videos at YouTube, all worth the time of thoughtful people.

He certainly is brave, broadcasting his own image as well as (possibly) his true name. 

Considering the legendary congeniality of the followers of the Religion of Peace, I sincerely hope that he lives in a bank vault and has a squad of magnificently well-trained and superbly armed bodyguards who follow him everywhere.  The typical lifespan of those who dare to speak the truth about Islam makes me hope that he has all of his affairs in order. 

[visualops]

wow