Forum Topic

An Open Letter to the Secretary of State for Education

The British Government is planning to make it easier to schools to “opt in” to the state sector. This would allow more minority faith schools to recieve state funding. The Association of Muslim schools received £100,000 from the British government to make the transition smoother for more of the 120 independent Muslim schools. Muslim children in state schools feel isolated and confused about who they are. This can cause dissatisfaction and lead them into criminality, and the lack of a true understanding of Islam can ultimately make them more susceptible to the teachings of fundamentalists like Christians during the middle ages and Jews in recent times in Palestine. Fundamentalism is nothing to do with Islam and Muslim; you are either a Muslim or a non-Muslim. 97% of Muslim pupils are in state schools. There are hundreds of state schools where Muslim pupils are in majority. In my opinion all such schools may be converted to Muslim community schools, manage and control by Muslim educational Trusts or Charities. State funded Muslim schools make sense. 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. None of the British Muslims convicted following the riots in Bradford and Oldham in 2001 or any of those linked to the London bombings had been to Islamic schools. An American Think Tank studied the educational back ground of 300 Jihadists; none of them were educated in Pakistani Madrasas. They were all Western educated by non-Muslim teachers. Bilingual Muslim children need bilingual Muslim teachers as role models.The national school systems of social democratic countries such as Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark are based on the principle that children can choose schools in either the state or independent sector funded by the taxpayers. CRE chairman stepped up his campaign to segregate black school boys to raise their academic achievement. A Cambridge University study found that single-sex classes could make a big difference for boys. They perform better in single-sex classes. The research is promising because male students in the study saw noticeable gains in the grades. The study confirms the Islamic notion that academic achievement is better in single-sex classes. Iftikhar Ahmad 

Iftikhar Ahmad ● 7686d15 Comments

History  repeats itself , you harp on about muslims not getting a fair deal in this country but ignore every response to your criticisms. are you incapable of debate because your mind is closed to other people having the right to speak out too?. rather a stupid comment , YOU ARE EITHER A MUSLIM OR A NON MUSLIM. That can easily be said about any religion. Arnt you the fundamentalist preaching the conversion of state schools, this is a multifaith country and the reasons for those convicted in the Bradford riots is because they were thugs , whether muslim or otherwise. you dont put an equally balanced argument , merely distorting to your own view the actuals of events . for example: those who bombed in Spain , Iraq, Afghanistan  and Africa were not educated in anything other than Muslim shools , so where is the criminality in those cases coming from ? your concepts of other faiths is not conducive of anything other than attempting to impose a doctrine that is alien to the wellbeing of all races that populate this wonderful country even you chose to live in and not your own . Why ?

Charlie Ingram ● 7683d

Charlie ..hear hear.

Jim Lawes ● 7683d

Don't you just get sick of this ranting?  I was severely slapped on the wrist for tearing into this jerk many months ago.If he hates Britain so much, why the hell doesn't he return to his roots?

Ann S. Allridge ● 7682d

My sentiments exactly. Keep knocking him off the page!!!

Audrey Walton ● 7682d

"Muslim children in state schools feel isolated and confused about who they are"In my view, this statement misses the point that many Muslims and their children are not at all isolated or confused - I count such people amongst my friends, neighbours and colleagues. The minority that are 'confused' tend to have strong family ties to Pakistan and Bangledesh - many of these families rarely speak English unless they have to or maintain even a basic understanding / appreciation for the country in which they have chosen to reside.Language is the basic common denominator in the UK - it's the thing that enables relationships to be built with neighbours, co-workers and the community at large - no matter what their faith or cultural origins. My experience is that many of those who are isolated are so because they choose to use English as a second language, thus depriving themselves of opportunities to play a constructive role in the community - it's also the reason that many children whose families have these roots are said to have poor geographic, social and economic mobility - in short, the strength of their roots forces them to adopt a way of life that excludes interaction with others and almost guarantees alienation.

Toby Lovern ● 7681d

Toby i wholeheartedly agree, whats more i feel we ought to debate and interact with each other more about this subject ,for far too long now we have remained silent whilst the protagonists have been allowed to voice opinions that are unhealthy and unwelcome . If Mr Ahmad really wants to see benefits from intergrating within our social and educational system he should refrain from making remarks that are designed to isolate muslim children from the other faiths and creeds. Calling for schools to give up their basic role to become faith schools is hardly indicative of assimulation to the host country. Why should the government fund radical alternatives to appease the likes of Mr ahmad.? He has laid bare his views concerning his thoughts regarding historic events in countries where violence is a daily occurrance, which ,in a democratic country is not a matter of free speech but an attempt to disrupt and convert through manipulation .

Charlie Ingram ● 7681d

Despite your valiant attempts to engage this geezer in a conversation (well done, chaps!) I suspect the notion that this is an 'open' letter is anything but!... ... and you are all flogging a dead horse. Forum Home

Sarah Felstead ● 7679d

"The study confirms the Islamic notion that academic achievement is better in single-sex classes. "I'm happy to be corrected but my understanding is that it's not an "islamic notion" that achievement is better in single sex classes but more a set of questionable interpretations of religious texts that have been used to justify subrogation of women, restricted access to education and in some cases outright bans on women participating in education at all as was the case in Afghanistan in recent years and as is now being proposed by radicals in Iraq.

Toby Lovern ● 7679d

Can somebody pen an open letter to Iftikhar, asking him to join in the conversation he has generated?

Sarah Felstead ● 7677d

sarah,Just spotted your posting...check out Fraser Pearce's splendid letter dated 14.9.05 to this racist twit.I can't understand why his 'letters' to the Forum aren't censored or criticised by the Powers That Be.  Then again, it wouldn't be politically correct for anybody to criticise our local Osama.Do you remember Harry Secombe's beautifully explosive raspberries?  Can Jim, Peter, or anyone find a way of illustrating (by picture and sound) one of those gestures?  Then next time Osama writes in, we only acknowledge his letter with said raspberry.However, since he probably never saw Harry Secombe, or probably never watched a comedy of any kind, our gesture would be lost on him;  we'd enjoy it though!

Ann S. Allridge ● 7660d

Iftikhar,Once again..you didn't reply to any of these postings..and some asked good questions of you...but you seemingly chose to ignore them.Is this the sort of thing to expect from a future dominate Islamic State.  no debate..just instruction.

Jim Lawes ● 7044d

JimThat is exactly what would happen, and you would also lose your head or other "bits" for daring to question him.........Dream on Iftikhar!!!

Account suspended ● 7043d

Ruth"If he hates Britain so much, why the hell doesn't he return to his roots?"Because we are a "soft touch" and he knows very well that if he was to dare to criticise the Taliban, he knows what his fate would be.......Don't you Iftikhar?

Account suspended ● 7043d

Ruth"If he hates Britain so much, why the hell doesn't he return to his roots?"Because we are a "soft touch" and he knows very well that if he was to dare to criticise the Taliban, he knows what his fate would be.......Don't you Iftikhar?

Account suspended ● 7043d

LSI is interested in the education of Muslim children. Majority of them leave schools with low grades because state schools with monolingual teachers do not know how to teach English language. They need bilingual Muslim teachers as role models. They need to learn Arabic. Urdu and other community languages to keep in touch with their cultural roots and enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry. They are not economic slaves, they are economic migrants.

Iftikhar Ahmad ● 7041d