UK: British Muslim school children suffering a backlash of abuse following Paris attacks

---

"We are seeing more incidents of racialised language and bullying against Muslim children in schools and it has led to a significant number of incidents following the events in Paris."

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | UK Desk
Source/Credit: The Independent | UK
By Cahal Milmo | January 23, 2015

Muslim pupils across Britain are suffering a backlash of bullying and abuse following the Charlie Hebdo massacre amid a broad rise in Islamophobia in schools which the Government is failing to tackle, campaigners have told The Independent.

The sole UK charity monitoring anti-Muslim hate crime said it had recorded a “significant” increase in incidents in schools in the wake of the killings in Paris with both parents and teachers reporting verbal and physical attacks against Muslim students.

In one case, a teenage Muslim pupil at a school in Oxfordshire was this week allegedly slapped and called a “terrorist” by classmates after a teacher raised the murders of 12 people at the French magazine in a classroom discussion and suggested Muslims should be “challenged” by the display of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed. The boy told his parents he did not wish to return to school.

Teachers unions and anti-racism groups told The Independent they have recorded an increase in Islamophobic incidents in schools with the 400,000 Muslim pupils in British schools increasingly likely to be taunted as “terrorists”, “paedophiles” or “immigrants”. The NASUWT, the teaching union, said the rise of anti-Muslim sentiment is causing “uncertainty and fear” in schools.

Tell MAMA, which monitors anti-Muslim hate crime in Britain, said it had logged 112 reports of physical and verbal violence in the wake of the Charlie Hebdo killings, including nine incidents which related specifically to schools in locations from West Yorkshire to East Sussex.

The organisation, which was recommended by Communities Secretary Eric Pickles last week in a letter subsequently criticised by Muslim groups for appearing to ask Muslims to prove their British identity, said it had been repeatedly rebuffed by a “short-sighted” Department for Education (DfE) in efforts to seek its support in offering training for schools in how to deal with Islamophobia.

Fiyaz Mughal, chief executive of Tell MAMA, said: “We are seeing more incidents of racialised language and bullying against Muslim children in schools and it has led to a significant number of incidents following the events in Paris.

“It is right that teachers and pupils should be able to discuss terrible events of this nature but it needs to be done carefully and in a manner that is sensitive to the position of Muslim pupils.

“For the past 18 months we have sought to engage with the DfE to offer training to schools but on each occasion we have been rebuffed. The lack of engagement is worrying.

“Whatever the reason, it gives the impression that anti-Muslim hatred is something that is not of significance for them. Lack of action is short sighted since we are seeing problems in some schools regarding bullying and prejudiced statements against Muslim students.”

[ more ... ]



Read original post here: British Muslim school children suffering a backlash of abuse following Paris attacks


This content-post is archived for backup and to keep archived records of any news Islam Ahmadiyya. The views expressed by the author and source of this news archive do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of Ahmadiyya Times.