Al-Hijrah School Education of British Muslim Children

Al-Hijrah School Education of British Muslim Children

The demand for Muslim schools comes from parents who want their children a safe environment with an Islamic ethos. Parents see Muslim schools where children can develop their Islamic Identity where they won't feel stigmatised for being Muslims and they can feel confident about their faith. Muslim schools are working to try to create a bridge between communities. There is a belief among ethnic minority parents that the British schooling does not adequately address their cultural needs. Failing to meet this need could result in feeling resentment among a group who already feel excluded. Setting up Muslim school is a defensive response. State schools with monolingual teachers are not capable to teach English to bilingual Muslim children. Bilingual teachers are needed to teach English to such children along with their mother tongue. According to a number of studies, a child will not learn a second language if his first language is ignored.

British schooling is the home of institutional racism and native teachers are chicken racists. Teachers and head teachers turn a blind eye to bullying, it's a fact!! Even if there is an anti-bullying policy it doesn't mean they'll act upon it when they see a pupil being bullied. Schools do NOT tackle bullying by ejecting the bullies themselves but will gladly sweep the problem out of sight in case it blots their Ofsted rating which has become more important now than the education and well being of the pupil. Bullying is unacceptable. The bullies should be targeted, not the victims.Just watch 'Educating Yorkshire' to see how senior staff tiptoe round the bullies trying not to offend them. Also a general point - there are many teachers these days with a strange psychological need to interact with the trouble makers and retain them within their schools. They tell everyone how caring they are for keeping the badly-behaved in their schools, when in fact they are keeping a bad person who is causing misery and stress and anxiety to the other children. Not so caring after all, as they keep claiming they are. Teachers are supposed to protect your children, not indulge the bullies and allow them to reign in schools. The statistics for bullying are damming as are the statistics for the quality of education in this country............ever down we go.............where is the bottom of the pit? This is what I hate about schools in general. Many of them turn a blind eye to bullying. If they do catch a kid bullying another kid, they either do nothing at all or give the bully a slap on the wrist. What's worse is that kids are now turning to Facebook and other social media to continue the bullying outside the classroom. So actually, even a kid who transfers to another school can easily be bullied by the same kids they tried to get away from. When will schools listen to people and understand that bullying is serious?

British schools are not doing enough to tackle racism and promote race relations. Many teachers are unaware of racist attitudes amongst pupils. Schools have a responsibility not only to deal with racist incidents but also to prepare pupils for life in a multicultural and multiracial society.

A report by the Institute for Community Cohesion found that native parents were deserting some schools after finding their children out numbered by pupils from ethnic minorities. Schools in parts of England are becoming increasingly segregated. The study focused on 13 local authorities. Many of the schools and colleges are segregated and this was generally worsening over recent years. This is RACISM because British society is the home of institutional racism. My statement regarding Muslim schools where there is no place for non-Muslim child or a teacher is based on educational process and not on racism. Muslim children need Muslim teachers during their developmental periods. For higher studies and research, Muslim teacher is not a priority.

There is the increase alienation of the UK’s British Muslim population, through stigmatism and increasing inflammatory anti-immigrant/foreigner propaganda – which is doing more to marginalize than to integrate its citizens. A fact of life is that these are descendants of the former British Empire/Commonwealth on which the sun never set, many that have lived in the UK for generations, but have kept their religious beliefs, cultures and traditions, remaining largely within their own communities perhaps because the UK itself has its own highly stratified class system with little integration flexibility between its own ranks which has left its former colonies somewhat side-lined. The anti-Muslim drumbeat is relentless. In the wake of the “Trojan horse”onslaught against mainly Muslim state schools in Birmingham, which branded conservative religiosity “extremism”, politically directed Ofsted inspectors have now turned their attention to east London. Six Muslim schools in Tower Hamlets have been failed and a majority-Muslim state secondary school with good results has been put in special measures because of risks of “extremism”.

Children from minority groups, especially the Muslims, are exposed to the pressure of racism, multiculturalism and bullying. They suffer academically, culturally and linguistically: a high proportion of children of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin are leaving British schools with low grades or no qualification.

Native Brits must learn to respect and tolerate those who are different. The needs and demands of the Muslim community are different from those of natives. Muslims are in Britain not to give up their cultural heritage. They must integrate in their new home country, learn new languages and apply for political representation -- without forgetting their cultural heritage. It is important to learn Standard English, but their languages should not be neglected. Muslim children not only need halal meat or Eid Holidays but they need state funded Muslim schools with Muslim teachers as role models during their development period also. There is no place for a non-Muslim child or a teacher in a Muslim school. This is nothing to do with a Islamic Madrasas in Pakistan. The needs and demands of British Muslims are different from Muslims living in Pakistan.

Speaking English does not promote integration into British, American and Australian societies, and broaden opportunities. English speaking Muslim youths are angry, frustrated and extremist, thanks to state schools with monolingual non-Muslim teachers and English language. English language is not only a lingua franca but also lingua frankensteinia. Human right are also covers linguistic right. Cultural and linguistic genocide are very common. British schooling is murdering community languages like Arabic, Urdu and others. English is today the world killer language. Linguistic genocide is a crime against humanity and British schooling is guilty of committing this crime. Language is not just a language. It defines one's culture, identity and consciousness. It defines how we think, communicate and express ourselves. The fact is the most South Asian Muslims have come to know Islam by way of Urdu, the children's alienation from the language that connects them the heritage of their parents and grandparents is disturbing. As a matter of fact, one has to get to know his mother tongue well if one is to master any other language.

Bilingual Muslims children have a right, as much as any other faith group, to be taught their culture, languages and faith alongside a mainstream curriculum. More faith schools will be opened under sweeping reforms of the education system in England. There is a dire need for the growth of state funded Muslim schools to meet the growing needs and demands of the Muslim parents and children. Now the time has come that parents and community should take over the running of their local schools. Parent-run schools will give the diversity, the choice and the competition that the wealthy have in the private sector.

There are hundreds of state primary and secondary schools where Muslim pupils are in majority. In my opinion all such schools may be opted out to become Muslim Academies. This mean the Muslim children will get a decent education. Muslim schools turned out balanced citizens, more tolerant of others and less likely to succumb to criminality or extremism. Muslim schools give young people confidence in who they are and an understanding of Islam’s teaching of tolerance and respect which prepares them for a positive and fulfilling role in society.
IA
http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk