Time for these schools to be closed down?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11799713

http://tinyurl.com/3a8995h

Should these schools be allowed to teach the savage side of Islam?

/// Panorama: British Schools, Islamic Rules, BBC One, Monday, 22 November at 2030GMT ///

[jake-the-peg]

Much as I'd love to close down all religious schools doing so is clearly a breach of people's rights to educate their children in their preferred superstition - er religion.

Having said that it is already an offence to promote racial or religious hatred and if an individual school is found to be doing that then it should be prosecuted.

Closing down all schools because of a TV investigation is clearly a dumb knee jerk reaction.

The right thing to do is to make sure that all religous education like this and other religions comes under ofstead's remit

[rov1200]

At first sight this seems preposterous. However on listening to the Panorama's Editor today he says the children are getting the grounding for when they get older and go back to Saudi Arabia to study education at a higher level and what is in the syllabus there. Some would say that If these Saudi ex-pats decide to take up an appointment in Britain they should conform with our education and not listen to what many regard as backward rules and laws.

[anotheoldgit]

Totally agree jake, but I think ofstead should have a little help from Special Branch.

[Zeuhl]

Presumably the kids appreciate that the home of Harrods doesn't share these views.

If it was a scholl for ex-pat Texans would we object to them teaching the practice of savagery such as executing the sick, the mentally sub-normal and people who haven't been granted a fair trial.
.

[saxy_jag]

These schools aren't state-funded, though, are they? And they're not 'day' schools, either. I thought they were evening and weekend schools, a bit like the way we sent our kids to bible class and bar mitsvah coaching.

I don't like what they're teaching, but as long as the kids they teach don't actually carry out what they're taught and don't break the law, as far as I know there's nothing to stop people teaching them.

You can legally teach someone how to tie a noose. It doesn't become illegal until it's actually used as such.

[sp1814]

Should they be free to preach hate?

No they certainly should not. I won't be able to watch the BBC documentary tonight, but will definitely catch it on iPlayer tomorrow. Sounds extremely worrying.

[saxy_jag]

Well, I have just watched it. It does seem that there are some dubious teachings in the main Islamic school system (state and private) in this country as well in the 'Saturday' schools. That I'm paying my taxes to support the former is something I'm not at all happy about. But if we're to allow Christian fundamentalists to spout some of the claptrap they do, then I don't see how we're going to justify stopping Muslims from doing the same.

[crapmemory]

They mentioned in the programme that Ofsted should be checking these schools out. When I worked in education we were given a couple of months warning from them that they were coming. This gives you plenty of time to have everything perfectly in place....total madness. They should be able to spot check without any warning then anything untoward would be found out and hopefully stamped on.

[ludwig]

// You can legally teach someone how to tie a noose. It doesn't become illegal until it's actually used as such. //

That's not really true. You can't preach racial hatred. It doesn't matter whether the person you're preaching to ignores what you say, you're still committing an offence by doing the preaching.

There's anti-semitic nonsense in the textbooks they use (to name just one problem with them). It should be dealt with in the same way as if it was a creche run by the BNP (or EDL or whatever they call themselves now) trying to indoctrinate toddlers with the same sort of hatred.

[anotheoldgit]

saxy_jag

/// I don't like what they're teaching, but as long as the kids they teach don't actually carry out what they're taught and don't break the law, as far as I know there's nothing to stop people teaching them. ///

On the contrary there is much we can do to stop this indoctrination of young minds, how can one be sure that these vile teachings don't surface in later years.

[anotheoldgit]

ludwig

/// It should be dealt with in the same way as if it was a creche run by the BNP (or EDL or whatever they call themselves now) trying to indoctrinate toddlers with the same sort of hatred.///

Not only the BNP or EDL, there are others who would be equally guilty if they also tried to indoctrinate young minds.

On a non-political basis, the present day sex education of young children has a lot to answer for.