Are Muslim Extremists Taking Over British Schools?
Image by getty images
Britain’s top school inspector said on Monday that an investigation into an alleged plot by extremist Muslims to take over the running of some schools in the city of Birmingham had found that a culture of “fear and intimidation” existed.
In March, an official investigation was sparked by an anonymous, unverified letter which claimed there was a plot to force some state schools in Birmingham with majority-Muslim pupils to adopt a more Islamic culture by installing school governors and teaching staff who would support a conservative Islamic religious agenda.
“Some of our findings are deeply worrying, and in some ways quite shocking,” said Michael Wilshaw, head of the Ofsted schools inspectorate. “In the most serious cases, a culture of fear and intimidation has taken grip.”
He added that some schools had not taken their responsibility to protect children against religious extremism seriously enough, and that in one case a guest speaker with known extremist views had been invited to speak to pupils.
David Hughes, Vice-Chairman of Park View Educational Trust which runs some of the schools implicated, rejected the conclusions of the report, saying the Ofsted inspections had been carried out in a climate of suspicion. He said the schools did not tolerate or promote extremism of any kind.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
