Al-Hijrah School is a voluntary-aided Islamic all-through school (aged 4 to 16) based in the Bordesley Green area of Birmingham, England.
It has a history of controversy since it became a state funded Islamic school in 2001.
An inspection of its library, after an inspection following the death of a child from an allergic reaction, had uncovered books condoning domestic violence, and marital forced sex. Then in December 2014 it was claimed that £1m in taxpayers' cash meant for school renovations, was in fact used to set up an all boys Islamic faith boarding school in Ziarat, Pakistan. The local authority pledged to investigate. The governors and head teacher had already been dismissed following the discovery of the black hole of £900,000 in its books ... the results of the investigation are not on any public record that I can find.
Some of the school governors had already been linked to the trojan horse scandal of Birmingham schools (although this school hadn't been included in that particular scandal). The Labour-run council and the Interim Executive Board (IEB - who were running the school), then reportedly issued a writ against one of the ex-governors, Waseem Yaqub, alleging him to have harassed the IEB staff appointed to turn the school around. He was also accused of intimidation and trespassing, and the writ sought damages of between £50,000 and £100,000, claiming Mr Yaqub was repeatedly abusive to three IEB members ... again I can find no record of that case (if its come to court).
In 2014 Ofsted also rated the school 'Inadequate' - the lowest rating - due to its controversial segregation of older pupils by sex from age 9, including requiring the girls to wait to eat, until "all the boys had finished". This Ofsted status was reaffirmed in 2016, and in October 2017 the city, which has a history of kowtowing to Islamic ideals, actually tried to defend the illegal practices in the school, by taking Ofsted to court. However the Court of Appeal judged that the segregation by sex being practised, was in breach of the Equality Act 2010, and ordered the school to stop the practice ... evidence suggested that it didn't, and the meal segregation for example was still being reported in January 2019.
Ofsted said after the ruling that their inspectors face “increasing hostility” from a few schools that have been influenced by “the most conservative religious groups,” and that the Al-Hijrah state funded school was an example of “worrying developments in a small number of state schools, as well in some independent schools and in unregistered provision.”
Then in late 2018, it was reported that following the damage caused by the illegal practice of segregating boys and girls (in line with conservative Islamic thinking), the council-funded school was being considered for being converted from a secondary, to a primary school, and older students parents were told to find other schools ..... the council said proposals have also now been made for a new 'free' girls school, with an Islamic ethos .... no lessons learnt being then?
The Labour-run local authority has two other boys-only Islamic secondary schools in the city .... surely its illegal for state funded schools to teach only one religion? Pandering to this sort of non integration, comes directly from the 'multiculturalism' creed. But then when have our laws ever really applied in respect of the cultural practices of this one group?
Of course, the parents of this failed school were totally happy with the girls being segregated, and happy that they were treated like second class citizens, apparently because that's what their culture demanded ... Integration into the British way of life seems a long way off ... we reap what we sow.
Addition: In case you think this type of school is a rarity, in the inquest of the London Bridge terror attack, mention was made of the Ad-Deen Primary School in Ilford (later renamed Eton Community College, before closing). Khuram Butt was invited to teach the Koran to kids aged 7 to 9. This despite his criminal cautions, drug taking, appearance on The Jihadis Next Door confronting police, his lack of references, his lack of teaching skills and education, and any background checks .... we reap what we sow.
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| Al-Hijrah School - An Example Of Us Reaping What We Sow? |
It has a history of controversy since it became a state funded Islamic school in 2001.
An inspection of its library, after an inspection following the death of a child from an allergic reaction, had uncovered books condoning domestic violence, and marital forced sex. Then in December 2014 it was claimed that £1m in taxpayers' cash meant for school renovations, was in fact used to set up an all boys Islamic faith boarding school in Ziarat, Pakistan. The local authority pledged to investigate. The governors and head teacher had already been dismissed following the discovery of the black hole of £900,000 in its books ... the results of the investigation are not on any public record that I can find.
Some of the school governors had already been linked to the trojan horse scandal of Birmingham schools (although this school hadn't been included in that particular scandal). The Labour-run council and the Interim Executive Board (IEB - who were running the school), then reportedly issued a writ against one of the ex-governors, Waseem Yaqub, alleging him to have harassed the IEB staff appointed to turn the school around. He was also accused of intimidation and trespassing, and the writ sought damages of between £50,000 and £100,000, claiming Mr Yaqub was repeatedly abusive to three IEB members ... again I can find no record of that case (if its come to court).
In 2014 Ofsted also rated the school 'Inadequate' - the lowest rating - due to its controversial segregation of older pupils by sex from age 9, including requiring the girls to wait to eat, until "all the boys had finished". This Ofsted status was reaffirmed in 2016, and in October 2017 the city, which has a history of kowtowing to Islamic ideals, actually tried to defend the illegal practices in the school, by taking Ofsted to court. However the Court of Appeal judged that the segregation by sex being practised, was in breach of the Equality Act 2010, and ordered the school to stop the practice ... evidence suggested that it didn't, and the meal segregation for example was still being reported in January 2019.
Ofsted said after the ruling that their inspectors face “increasing hostility” from a few schools that have been influenced by “the most conservative religious groups,” and that the Al-Hijrah state funded school was an example of “worrying developments in a small number of state schools, as well in some independent schools and in unregistered provision.”
Then in late 2018, it was reported that following the damage caused by the illegal practice of segregating boys and girls (in line with conservative Islamic thinking), the council-funded school was being considered for being converted from a secondary, to a primary school, and older students parents were told to find other schools ..... the council said proposals have also now been made for a new 'free' girls school, with an Islamic ethos .... no lessons learnt being then?
The Labour-run local authority has two other boys-only Islamic secondary schools in the city .... surely its illegal for state funded schools to teach only one religion? Pandering to this sort of non integration, comes directly from the 'multiculturalism' creed. But then when have our laws ever really applied in respect of the cultural practices of this one group?
Of course, the parents of this failed school were totally happy with the girls being segregated, and happy that they were treated like second class citizens, apparently because that's what their culture demanded ... Integration into the British way of life seems a long way off ... we reap what we sow.
Addition: In case you think this type of school is a rarity, in the inquest of the London Bridge terror attack, mention was made of the Ad-Deen Primary School in Ilford (later renamed Eton Community College, before closing). Khuram Butt was invited to teach the Koran to kids aged 7 to 9. This despite his criminal cautions, drug taking, appearance on The Jihadis Next Door confronting police, his lack of references, his lack of teaching skills and education, and any background checks .... we reap what we sow.
"Religious School" is an oxymoron, "Islamic School" doubly so.
ReplyDeleteCan't disagree.
DeleteThe Al-Hijrah School, which finally closed in 2019, was £2.9m in debt when it did so, and that includes the £1.2m which 'disappeared' in a Dubai based transaction. To be fair, no one seems to have been prosecuted for fraud in the time since this post, this despite one or two investigations. The latest was by the charity commission.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, for the whole Birmingham Schools Trojan horse scandal, it appears that just one teacher (the former acting head of Oldknow), has had any disciplinary charges upheld in relation to the Birmingham Schools Trojan horse case. One school governor was banned, and the other 14 teachers accused of participating, have all apparently had their cases overturned, dropped or dismissed. However some of this was due to a legal technicality, which meant the arguments were never discussed and weighed in court.