The National Council of Imams and Masajid

[Iftikhar]

The National Council of Imams and Masajid


British Government has been frustrated that a large number of Imams were born and educated in Pakistan, speak limited English, but well versed in their mother tongues, Arabic, Urdu and Farsi, making it difficult for the Government to know what is going on in the Masajid. The drive to encourage British Muslims to become Islamic clerks and to teach English to Imams is planned by British establishment with the help of so called Muslim leaders. Imams were accused of being out me grown”. The home grown Imams are neither well versed in English nor in Urdu or in other community languages. The Imams from the Sub-continent must be freely allowed to come to satisfy the spiritual social and emotional.


In reality, Islam isn’t about beliefs, it’s also about culture and identity. According to BNP, Islam has become a toxic racial proxy. Atheists and fundamentalist Christians are using popular slogans to incite against Muslims whom they see as the new source of danger for Europe. Pope Urban 11 in 1099 called the faithful to join the first Crusade and expel the Muslims from the Holy Land. It is now high time to react once again and defend Western civilizations as well as everything else which is threatened by radical Koran-Islam. The modern Crusades plan to save western civilization from Islamisation. Islamophobia is a deliberate defamation of Islam and discrimination and intolerance against Muslims. It is the worst type of terrorism the world has ever witnessed. British education system has already eradicated the languages of the young generation of Muslims. Now the British establishment is trying to kick out Urdu and other community languages from the Masajid. Bilingualism is an asset and not a problem.


Education experts say that a celebration on community languages in schools is one way of riding Britain of its reputation as the world’s language “dunce” and promoting better relations between different ethnic groups. The study of such languages is considered important for the future health of the economy. Research by CILT shows a revolution in the take-up of non-traditional languages in secondary schools. Experts say promoting community languages could also persuade native Brits to take an interest in them. The linguistic map of Britain was changing, with multi-linguals spreading from typically multi-ethnic areas to more “traditional” parts. By encouraging children to develop their existing knowledge we will be building up an important skills base as well as raising educational achievement. There is a huge body of research testify to the benefits that bilingualism has for educational development. The future of Britain is multi-lingual, and this needs to be reflected in the school curriculum.


Unfortunately with the rise of anti-immigrant sentiment, racism and Islamophobia, bilingualism has been neglected and ignored intentionally. Article 29 of the Convention on the Rights of a child states that “the education of the child should be directed to the development of respect for the child’s parents, his or her own cultural identity, languages and values.” Article 30 states that “a child belonging to an (ethnic, religious or linguistic minority) should be educated in a manner that affirmatively acknowledges their native language abilities as well as ensures their acquisition of English. The Education Act of 1944 clearly states that children should be educated according to the needs and demands of the parents. The silent majority of Muslim parents would like to send their children to state Muslim schools. Dcsf and OFSTED must take the responsibility that all schools must abide by the human rights issues.


Iftikhar Ahmad


www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

[reepicheep]

TO THE EDITOR: Another response to Ahmad


09:00 Mon 15 Oct 2007


"The Sophia Echo" newspaper


Sir


Iftikhar Ahmad (Letter to the Editor, The Sofia Echo, September 28) displays the typical tendencies that brought Muslim culture such a bad name: arrogant claims of superiority, segregation, discrimination of other faiths and non-believers, total blindness to the failings of the own culture (can he name one Nobel-prize winner for science from the Muslim world?).


If Muslim children are disadvantaged in education and work, it is because they come into secondary education and the workplace with a language deficit, caused by the segregation and the culture in which they have been brought up. In the workplace, many young Muslims show an arrogant attitude and intolerance of criticism. As Peter Knight writes, if you come to another country to live and work, you have to conform to the language and the majority values in that country. If you don’t want that, stay in, or go back to the wonderful country you came from (Pakistan?) If you want your children educated outside the public system, pay for yourself.


In the Netherlands, we do have single-faith schools. The Protestant and Catholic schools always had a good reputation, but many Muslim schools give a picture of plain bad education, corporal punishment (although strictly forbidden under Dutch law), indoctrination against Western values (equality of women and gay people) and an authoritarian climate that punishes curiosity and initiative. Recently, a Muslim school in Amsterdam was closed because it could not be made to conform to the minimum standards even after being given ample time to re-organise. In this system, Turkish and Moroccan children can grow up practically without contact with kids from other cultures.


When I read Mr Ahmad’s letter, and remember, for instance, that interreligious relationships are almost impossible (unless, of course, the non-Muslim party agrees to convert), a nasty Dutch word comes back from my dustbin: Apartheid.


Huib van den Doel


Sofia and The Netherlands

[umm Zachariah]

Bismillah


Intersting to read about the situation in UK and 'get a response' from someone in the Netherlands.


Would have been more interesting with a comment from someone also living and being aquinted with the conditions in UK.