Muslim schools 'plot' teacher: 'I am not an extremist'

S U N D AY 27 APRIL 2014

A senior teacher connected to an alleged Musli &ir ingha ore Musli

!lot to ta"e o#er a nu $er o%

schools tells 'hannel 4 Ne(s there (as a ca !aign to e !lo) teachers * in order to raise standards+

The teacher, who works at one of 25 Birmingham schools currently under investigation over "Operation Trojan Horse", spoke e clusively to Channel 4 News under a condition of anonymity! "ikaeel # not his real name # wanted to address distur$ing allegations that, in the heart of Birmingham%s &akistani community, a hardline, conservative sect has plotted to influence the education of thousands of children! ,or too long the needs o% Musli !u!ils (ere neglected+%"ikaeel%

The "plot", initially $rought to light in an anonymous letter, was reportedly aimed at imposing strict interpretations of 'slam in secular schools in Birmingham ( accusations that raise uncomforta$le )uestions for modern Britain, at time when the prime minister has tried to assert Britain%s *hristian heritage! "ikaeel, a senior teacher at one of the schools who has spoken out against the wishes of his employers, told me that this claim is simply not true!

He is not, he tells me, an "e tremist!" "This term, the %'slamification of schools% # some people think it means imposing sharia law," he says! "But to our community it simply means making sure the needs of "uslim pupils are $eing met, eg! $y providing halal meat!" -Pu!ils (ere neglectedBut he does admit that there was a campaign to get more "uslim teachers and governors into schools! This, he says, was a response to the under( achievement of schools in predominantly "uslim areas! .e ha#e to acce!t that these are schools (ith a !o!ulation and the curriculu a/orit) Musli

should re%lect that+%"ikaeel%

"any were rated as inade)uate, he says, and so they $egan to actively recruit teachers and governors! One of their aims was to meet the needs of "uslim pupils $ut, he insists, this isn+t evidence of e tremism! ",or too long the needs of "uslim pupils were neglected," he tells me! "'t%s a$out understanding why, for e ample, &akistani girls or -omali $oys are under(achieving and then getting their parents on $oard! "-o, for e ample, re(assuring parents that if their children do &. they will get changed in separate changing rooms # what%s wrong with that/" -Not+++ ore Isla icHowever, there have $een some worrying allegations # that girls have $een forced to sit at the $ack of the classroom, that se education has $een $anned, that e tremist preachers have $een invited to address school assem$lies! The story has raised important )uestions a$out how far secular, state( funded schools should accommodate religious practices! 't has also $rought into )uestion the regulation of academies! "any of the schools involved are

no longer under the control of the local authority! ' asked "ikaeel if he understood why non("uslims might feel uncomforta$le a$out schools pushing the needs of a religious minority! He said0 "'f they have $een reading a$out this in the papers then yes ( even '%d $e scared and uncomforta$le! "But we have to accept that these are schools with a majority "uslim population and the curriculum should reflect that! 't%s not a$out making them more 'slamic!" He points out that many parents in the community support the schools, which have turned themselves around after decades of underachievement! -ome feel that there is an agenda against "uslim professionals who are trying to raise standards! The results of the first of three in)uiries are e pected within a fortnight!