Fury as student teacher is reprimanded by university bosses

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MMU student told his course leader he was 'extremely concerned' about Batley

Batley Grammar teacher is under police protection after showing picture in class

MMU student said he worried about the 'cowardly response from the unions and other bodies connected to teaching' amid the row over the Batley teacher

By Henry Martin For Mailonline

Published: 13:22, 13 May 2021 | Updated: 16:44, 13 May 2021

A teacher trainee was hauled before a fitness to practise meeting after saying he 'would not hesitate' to use images of the Prophet Mohammed in a class - sparking a fierce backlash from freedom of speech advocates.

The Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) student had told his course leader he was 'extremely concerned' about the recent case of a teacher at Batley Grammar School who was suspended after he showed an image of the prophet to pupils.

The Batley, West Yorkshire teacher and his family are still under police protection, and the threat to their safety is judged as so severe that even their relatives do not know where they are now living, more than six weeks after fleeing their home.

The MMU student, who is set to complete his Postgraduate Certificate in Education course this summer, had written an email to his course leader on April 1 saying he worried about the 'cowardly response from the unions and other bodies connected to teaching', The Telegraph reports.

'I would like to know whether or not MMU is prepared to stand up for any student who finds themselves in a similar position,' he added, arguing that the protests which arose amid the row were a 'clear attempt to enforce a de facto blasphemy law on teachers and schools'.

'I would not hesitate to use drawings of any religious figure, including Mohammed, and I certainly will not bow to any pressure from protests, and I would like to think that my university will stand with me,' he said.

The course leader did not reply, but one month later the student was contacted by the head of the teacher education department demanding he attend a 'fitness to practise cause for concern meeting'.

The reaction has prompted fury as critics voiced their support for the trainee teacher.

The Free Speech Union said: 'It is absolutely ludicrous that a trainee teacher could be barred from teaching for supporting the Batley Grammar School teacher over the Mohammed cartoons.

'There is no blasphemy law in England, nor should there ever be again.'

Social media users agreed with the union's statement, with one saying: 'Where are all the teachers backing him up? Should be ashamed of themselves.'

Another said: '@GavinWilliamson I'm a teacher. The profession is being intimidated. The people in charge of education acquiesce to the demands of a religion.'

A third said: 'He should not be fighting to keep his job, this is a clear case of the tail wagging the dog. The people at the top need to stand up, grow a pair and tell everyone that they will not be cowed or intimidated in this way.'

The fitness meeting could result in a referral to a Fitness to Practise Panel following the MMU student's comments claiming he would be willing to show the picture of Mohammed in class, he was told.

The head of department told him it could be a breach of Teachers' Standards - which include upholding 'public trust in the profession'.

The concern 'specifically relates to the Prophet Mohammed' due to 'particular sensitivities' around drawings of him, the student was told.

The student teacher called the response 'ludicrous and humiliating'.

An MMU spokesman told MailOnline: 'Manchester Metropolitan University has always supported and championed freedom of speech. We provide an academic environment in which debate and the sharing of views is encouraged.

'However, there is a difference between the expectations on students within an academic environment on a University campus and the expectations once our students move into a professional practice environment, such as a primary school.

'We look at all cases on their individual merits and in knowledge of the full context around a particular issue, and then take a course of action that is relevant and most suitable to deal with that specific issue.

'In this instance, it was thought best to have an initial discussion with the student about the potential impact in a primary school environment of the suggestion that he would be happy to share imagery which would be upsetting to people of a particular faith.

'We believe the discussion with the student was positive and constructive and we await further feedback from him before deciding whether any further steps are required.'

It comes after the row over Batley deepened this month as Imam Adil Shahzad, who travelled to Batley from Bradford to join the protests, insisted he wants the teacher dismissed.

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To live in a diverse society means to live with debate. Bring it on

Sun 28 Mar 2021

No one has a right not to be offended. All of us have a duty to challenge bigotry. These two claims are not just compatible, they are often interconnected. Today, though, many view these as conflicting perspectives. To give offence to other cultures or faiths, they argue, is to foment racism; to challenge racism, one should refrain from giving offence.

It’s a belief at the heart of the controversy engulfing Batley grammar school. The facts are still unclear. A teacher apparently showed an image of the Prophet Muhammad in a religious education class. Some parents have demanded the teacher be sacked, holding protests outside the school. The school has apologised and suspended the teacher involved. At the heart of the affair, the former Tory cabinet minister Sayeeda Warsi insists, is the issue of “child safeguarding”, of protecting children from racist bullying.

It is inevitable in plural societies that we offend the sensibilities of others. Where different beliefs are deeply held, disagreement is unavoidable. Almost by definition, that’s what it means to live in a plural society. If we cherish diversity, we should establish ways of having such debates and conversations in a civil manner, not try to suppress them. A structured discussion in a classroom, properly done, seems an ideal approach.

It is inevitable, too, that in pursuing social change, we often offend deeply held sensibilities. Many groups struggling for justice and equality – women, gays, non-believers – within religious communities cannot but be blasphemous. In this context, to accept that certain things cannot be said is to accept that certain forms of power cannot be challenged. Fighting for social justice, in other words, often requires us to offend others. The boundaries of speech are different in a classroom than in the world outside. Here, a teacher is dealing with minors, building a relationship of trust with them, encouraging them to think, and to think about issues that they may not have thought about or may not have wanted to think about.

But here, too, there is nothing wrong in discussing material that may offend or be deemed blasphemous. Some commentators, including Warsi, claim that pupils were shown a Charlie Hebdo cartoon depicting Muhammad with a bomb in his turban. The problem, they say, is not blasphemy but racism.

Whether this claim is true is unclear. Given that, in Paris, Samuel Paty, a teacher, was beheaded after a schoolgirl’s false claim, we should be wary of jumping to conclusions before knowing all the facts. Even if the story is true as reported, however, it does not imply that the teacher was misguided. Nor does it show that the class discussion was a cause of racism or bullying.

One can play a clip of a Bernard Manning joke, show an antisemitic cartoon or discuss a Charlie Hebdo cover in ways that heighten racist prejudices. One can also do each of these things in ways that allow students to think more deeply about the issue at hand and reduce racial or religious tensions. What matters is the manner and context in which the subject is approached. To simply insist that showing offensive material in the classroom is to exacerbate racism is a disingenuous means of manipulating “safeguarding” to limit what can be discussed.

One of the ironies of such controversies is that they serve to silence many Muslim voices and traditions. Virtually every press report on the Batley school controversy has claimed that there is an Islamic prohibition on the depiction of the Prophet Muhammad, as, indeed, does the “agreed syllabus for religious education” in West Yorkshire.

This is historically illiterate. There have been many Islamic traditions, particularly in Persia, Turkey and India, open to depicting Muhammad. Only in the 17th century did attitudes shift, particularly among Sunnis. In recent decades, reactionaries, both Sunni and Shia, have seized on prohibition as a means of strengthening their control over Muslim communities. To claim that “Islam prohibits depictions of Muhammad” is to take the most conservative views and present them as representative of Islam.

When we say that we live in a diverse society, we mean that it’s a messy world out there, full of disagreement and debate. That is something we should welcome, not fear, for it is such disagreement and debate that allow us to break out of our culture-bound boxes, to engage in a wider dialogue that can help forge a more universal language of citizenship. The question we should ask ourselves is not how to minimise such debates, but how to create ways of engaging in them more constructively.

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Kenan Malik is an Observer columnist

Muhammad cartoon teacher fundraiser under scrutiny by Tom Belger in 'SCHOOLS WEEK'

Mon 5th Apr 2021, 5.00

A fundraising campaign for the teacher at the centre of the Muhammad cartoon row is being led by an activist accused of stirring up local ethnic tensions.

It comes as a petition demanding the teacher’s reinstatement reached almost 70,000 signatures.

The staff member’s use of caricatures of the prophet in class sparked protests outside Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire, thrusting it into the middle of a wider row over religion and free speech.

The school has now ordered an independent investigation into its curriculum after immediately suspending the teacher and apologising “unequivocally” over the materials used in RE lessons. The teacher involved is reported to fear for his life after death threats forced him into hiding.

An online fundraising page to help the teacher fight for his “job, reputation and security” secured more than £5,600 in donations within a day of its launch on Wednesday.

Creator Paul Halloran called it the “official fundraiser,” and said he was a family friend who had been asked to set it up.

But Halloran’s involvement in past local community tensions may risk further politicising divides over the issue.

Standing as a candidate in the 2019 local elections, Halloran faced claims from opponents across the political spectrum that he was stirring up ethnic divisions.

Halloran came third in the Barley West ward for the Heavy Woollen District independent party, whose only other local candidate Aleks Lukic was a former UKIP candidate.

Lukics led a controversial campaign to stop non-stunned halal meat being served in schools, with Halloran demanding the council reveal which schools did so.

Kirklees’ Labour council leader Shabir Pandor told the local Yorkshire Live news site their motives were “extreme and dangerous” accusing the pair of trying to “sow division” by politicising the issue.

Conservative leader David Hall agreed all meat should be pre-stunned to avoid animal cruelty, but condemned “those who would try to stir up community tensions” over the issue.

Halloran has also criticised the term “Islamophobia,” saying all racism should be called out. “I don’t see a lot in the Muslim community commenting on grooming gangs and terrorism…. Let’s not invent a word that will stop us debating those things,” he reportedly said, according to the Press local newspaper. He denied accusations of racism.

But Halloran told Schools Week he “wholeheartedly” rejected ‘far-right’ labels, calling them “nonsense” promoted by his political opponents to discredit him. He said he was a respected local man who belonged to no political party, and had friends of “all cultures and religions.”

But he said he remained concerned “the word ‘Islamophobic’ is used at time to stifle reasoned and respectful debate.”

Footage of protests outside Batley Grammar’s gates quickly went viral, catapulting the area into the headlines only a few years after the murder of local Labour MP Jo Cox by a far-right extremist.

Demonstrators’ anger over depictions of Muhammad, reportedly caricatures from French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, and the school’s apology for “inappropriate” RE materials quickly sparked a backlash against the backlash.

Many appealed for calm but the row sparked not only fierce rows over blasphemy, schooling, free speech and multiculturalism but also reported death threats. Conservative peer Sayeeda Warsi warned debate had been “hijacked by extremists on both sides.”

The DfE swiftly called the protests and threats “completely unacceptable,” and defended the inclusion of controversial curriculum materials. The teacher involved is reported to have been teaching about blasphemy.

National Secular Society chief executive Stephen Evans told Schools Week school leaders “shouldn’t allow blasphemy taboos enforced through intimidation to dictate their teaching.”

The school switched to remote learning amid the protests. The independent investigation will review the “context in which the materials [which caused offence] were used, and to make recommendations in relation to the Religious Studies curriculum so that the appropriate lessons can be learned and action taken, where necessary”.

An independent investigation panel will be appointed over the next fortnight, with the probe set to begin on April 12 and report “towards the end of May.”

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130 imams and scholars urge PM to condemn Batley school teacher

By

5Pillars (RMS) - 2 months ago

Over 130 imams and Islamic scholars have written to the Prime Minister urging him to condemn the showing of blasphemous cartoons to Muslim children at Batley Grammar School.

In an open letter to Boris Johnson, the imams and scholars say the incident was an attempt to incite hatred and Islamophobia whilst pushing forward extremist white supremacist ideology.

So far three teachers have been suspended over the incident which has led to widespread outrage within the Muslim community. On the other hand, right-wing media, politicians and civil society commentators have supported the actions of the teacher.

The letter was organised by the Muslim Action Forum. Below is the letter and list of signatories in full:

Dear Prime Minister,

We the undersigned British Muslim citizens and scholars are writing to express our unequivocal condemnation of the depiction of the caricature of our Holy Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, by the RE teacher at Batley Grammar School. It is inconceivable that such a depiction in an RE lesson can be based on the notion of discussing “freedom of speech” or even a critique of the personality of the Holy Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him. It was prima facie, based on the usual attempt of inciting hatred and Islamophobia whilst pushing forward extremist white supremacist ideology, which inevitably creates chaos and anarchy.

The hallmark of any civilised society cannot be the freedom to abuse and provoke certain members of society. Current legal proscription of xenophobic, anti-Semitic, homophobic, and other language of incitement of violence, ensures that we all remain in the realm of civil society. Why is it then that hatred against Muslims and Islamophobia is so widely defended and accepted? Surely, in sowing such seeds of hatred, we only advance the vested agenda of a tiny minority of extremists on all sides, that seek to gain from any form of chaos and anarchy. Depicting the caricatures of the Holy Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, will inevitably offend and provoke the feelings of 1.6 billion Muslims on this planet, and this cannot be unintentional or an act of a civilised member of society.

There are some who stand in solidarity with the teacher, guided by their blind hatred of the Muslim community in our country. They fail to understand how the love of the Holy Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him means more to every Muslim than everything else that is dear to them. In a world where many are self-centred, egotistical, and selfish members of society, they fail to understand how a man who lived over 1400 years ago can be more meaningful to over 1.6 billion Muslims than their own dear lives.

The global coronavirus pandemic has taught us that there are issues within society in which we are one, we must care for each other otherwise we end up dying together. We need to cling onto those issues that help us to learn to live together and uphold common values to ensure a civilised society. The outcomes of the heinous acts of the teacher inevitably lead to shaking the fabrics of our society, greatly damaging social cohesion and harmony. We invite you as Prime Minister, the political head of our country, and as our fellow British citizen, to stand with British Muslims in the condemnation of such divisive actions. The reprehensible actions of the teacher are a call to action to all civilised members of our society to unequivocally condemn such intentional behaviour.

We welcome the actions of the governors of the Batley Grammar School to suspend not only the teacher in question, but also the other co-conspirators, who designed this attack on our civilised society. The whole of the British Muslim community shall critically observe the next steps that the school takes to ensure that justice is done.

Kind regards,

Shaykh Faiz Siddiqi, Muslim Action Forum

Imam Adil Shahzad, Bradford

Imam Khalid Hussain, Leicester

Shaikh Tauqir Ishaq, Nuneaton

Shaykh Zain Siddiqi, Birmingham

Shaykh Noor Siddiqi, Coventry

Shaykh Waseem Ahmed, Manchester

Mufti Wajid Iqbal, Bradford

Shaykh Mohsin Haveliwala, Bolton

Mufti Nizamuddin Misbahi, Blackburn

Mufti Muhammad Qasim Zia, Sheffield

Shaykh Shabaz Ahmed, Ashton-under-Lyne

Shaykh Zahid Sharif, Ashton-under-Lyne

Imam Muhammad Anis, Birmingham

Imam Husnain Yaqoob, Nottingham

Imam Muhammad Amir, Stoke-on-Trent

Imam Abdul Rasool Alwari, Preston

Maulana Muhammad Kaleem, Bolton

Mufti Muhammad Naseerullah Naqshabandi, Bolton

Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad Irfany, Bolton

Sayyid Muhammad Hamdani, Bolton

Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad Samdani, Bolton

Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad Zarkani, Bolton

Professor Muhammad Masood Hazarvi, Luton

Imam Mohammed Bilal, Peterborough

Imam Sudagar Hussain, Bradford

Imam Adeel Attari, Bradford

Imam Muhammad Adeeb, Stoke-on-Trent

Imam Qari Muhammad Ayub, Stoke-on-Trent

Maulana Atif Jabbar Haidary, Birmingham

Shaykh Muhammad Farooq Nazami, Birmingham

Imam Hafiz Muhammad Bashir, Birmingham

Imam Barkat Ahmed, Birmingham

Imam Hafiz Akhtar Ali, Southampton

Shaykh Sufi Arshad Mahmood, Leeds

Imam Hafiz Muhammad Ali, Southampton

Mufti Muhammad Saqib Qadri, Oldham

Mohammed Shafiq, Ramadhan Foundation, Rochdale

Imam Muhammad Qasim Qadri, Nottingham

Shaykh Naveed Jameel, Nottingham

Imam Muhammad Asrar, Nottingham

Shaykh Muhammad Naveed Ashrafi, Blackburn

Imam Hafiz Muhammad Ali, Warrington

Imam Hafiz Amjad Mahmood, Bury

Shaykh Qari Mohammad Tayyab, Manchester

Mufti Muhammad Qasim, Manchester

Imam Muhammad Ilyas, Manchester

Mufti Muhammad Rubel, Manchester

Imam Hafiz Muhammad Ozair, Manchester

Imam Hafiz Muhammad Omair, Manchester

Imam Hafiz Muhammad Yasin, Manchester

Imam Hafiz Muhammad Fahim, Manchester

Allama Hafiz Muhammad Zia, Birmingham

Maulana Muhammad Umar, Birmingham

Maulana Muhammad Zahoor, Birmingham

Syed Muhammad Riaz Barkati, Accrington

Imam Mobashir Iqbal, Manchester

Shaykh Muhammad Din Sialvi, Nelson

Hafiz Niaz Ahmad Siddiqee, Birmingham

Mufti Wali Raza Rizvi, Worcester

Imam Hassnain Raza Siddiqee, Birmingham

Imam Hafiz Faisal Javed, Birmingham

Imam Abbas Ashra, Newcastle

Shaykh Muhammad Yaseen, Birmingham

Imam Hafiz Zulkarnain, Leicester

Imam Muhammad Maruf, Eccles

Imam Hafiz Muhammad Iftikhar, Manchester

Shaykh Syed Munawar Hussain Shah Bukhari, Blackburn

Shaykh Syed Sajjad Hussain Shah Bukhari, Blackburn

Syed Talha Bukhari, Blackburn

Syed Usama Bukhari, Blackburn

Allama Nawaz Hazarvi, Peterborough

Shaykh Mufti Ansar ul Qadri, Bradford

Syed Muhammad Zafarullah Shah, Birmingham

Mufti Fazl Ahmed Qadri, Derby

Shaykh Pir Mohammad Dilshad Hussain al-Qadri, Leeds

Shaykh Pir Tayyab-Ur-Rehman, Birmingham

Allama Qari Mahmood Ul Hassan Farashwi, Walthamstow

Allama Nabeel Afzal Qadri, Coventry

Allama Mohammed Zahoor, Oldham

Imam Hafiz Ghulam Rasool, Black Country

Shaykha Rukia Bi Mahmood, Stoke-on-Trent

Ustadha Nz Shahid, Sandwell

Ustadha Tahira, Oldbury

Ustadha Shazia, Smethwick

Ustadha Zaib, Oldbury

Ustadha Naila, West Bromwich

Ustadha Ghazala, Tipton

Ustadha Nasrin, Tipton

Imam Muhammad Hafeez, Tyseley

Imam Sajid Mahmood, Walsall

Imam Hashmi, Dudley

Imam Hafiz Akram, Dudley

Imam Hafiz Shafiq, Tividale

Imam Hafiz Yaqub, West Bromwich

Imam Syed Nazir Shah, West Bromwich

Qari Muhammad Yunus, Tipton

Imam Hafiz Siddique, Oldbury

Imam Hafiz Muzammil, Tipton

Imam Hafiz Rayharn, Sandwell

Imam Hafiz Abdul Qadir, Blackheath

Imam Hafiz Abdulla Sultani, Erdington

Imam Hafiz Dilpazir, Erdington

Imam Hafiz Abdul Ghafoor Chisti, Birmingham

Imam Hafiz Allah Baksh, Birmingham

Imam Hafiz Muhammad Miyan, Manchester

Imam Hafiz Shabraz, Wolverhampton

Imam Yusuf Qamar, Lye, West Midlands

Imam Maulana Munawwar, Smethwick

Imam Qadhi Sajid Zaffar, Birmingham

Shaykh Mohammad Arshad Misbahi, Manchester

Imam Abdul Hafeez Aziz, Bradford

Molana Muhammad Islam, Birmingham

Imam Asim Hussain, Bradford

Mufti Qari Saeed, Newcastle

Allama Ayub Chishti, Blackburn

Allama Masood Qadri, Bolton

Allama Muhammad Husein Qadri, Bolton

Imam Subhanoor Chowdhury, Leicester

Allama Zafar Mahmood Farashwi, Manchester

Imam Qari Muhammad Aurangzeb, Manchester

Shaykh Sabir Ali, Bolton

Mufti Tahir Ali, Bolton

Imam Tayyub Ali, Bolton

Imam Azhar Ali, Bolton

Shaykh Syed Ghulam Dastgir Shah, Halifax

Sahibzada Junaid Akhtar, Birmingham

Allama Sajjad Razwi, Halifax

Syed Usman Ali al-Qadri, Bradford

Imam Hafiz Mohammed Razvi al-Qadri, Leicester

Nadir Muhammad, Centre for Muslim Policy Research, London

Imam Hafiz Uthman, Birmingham

Shoaib Malik, Muslim Action Forum – National Co-ordinator, Warrington