Teachers at Derby school ordered to wear Hijabs
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I've just read this in our local paper 'The Derby Evening Telegraph' and if it's true - especially the BIB - it's a rather worrying situation, both regarding free schools and the number of Islamic extremists in the UK. The government has really got to keep an eye out for things like this because if female pupils ARE being treated differently to the boys, it's a trend that might increase in future years.
WOMEN teachers at Al-Madinah School in Derby claim they are being told to cover their heads and shoulders with a hijab – an Islamic scarf – whether or not they are Muslim. This is one of several complaints made by staff to their unions at Al-Madinah School, which is currently under investigation by the Education Funding Agency for alleged irregularities over its grants.
A member of the teaching staff told the Derby Telegraph that women were being told to sign new contracts that say they must wear hijabs and that girls are told to sit at the back of classes. Two non-Asian women, who refused to comment, were spotted taking off their hijabs as soon as they were out of sight of the school during the lunch hour.
Nick Raine, regional NUT officer, said he was "very worried" about the school and the education of the 200 children there.
He said: "It's one thing to have a dress code which we can challenge and quite another to build it into a contract."
It is understood that the new contracts for staff also include rules about not taking non-halal food into the school and not being allowed to wear jewellery. Mr Raine added: "There are worries over practices concerning the discrimination between male and female pupils in the school, with the girls being told to sit at the back of the class regardless of whether they can see the board properly."
Andrew Cutts-Mckay, who has left after less than a year in post, said at the time that the school was being set up so that "the timetable will be flexible with time for Islamic teaching but pupils will be able to opt out of this and there will be a chance to learn about other faiths".
Sue Arguile, branch secretary of Derby National Union of Teachers, said: "This school was first launched as based on Muslim principles and not as a Muslim school.
"If the school is not sticking to the original reasons behind why it was set up, then it does call into question whether public money is being used properly and for its intended purpose."
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The upside of this sort of thing, I suppose, is that it might prod us into getting rid of all faith schools. I'd take that as a win, overall.
So it would seem.
That's something I agree with though if we are to get rid of one type of faith school we should get rid of them all
We'll have to see what the outcome of the investigation is, it's possible that the non-Muslim women are making these allegations up but then, they would never have started working at this school if they were racist or Islamaphobic.
"We seek to inculcate in our pupils the core universal principles of equality, fairness, peace, tolerance and respect for all people"
This is from the school web site.
Tolerance and respect eh?
Only on our terms it seems.
It is open to non Muslim children too, just like other faith schools. I live in Derby and my children attend primary and secondary schools that are over subscribed and due to excellent OFSTED and the local secondary school is one of the best in the city.
I have noticed that none of the Muslim children have transferred to the new Muslim school. My children's classmates who are Muslim have parents who value the academic reputation of the school above their faith.
I wonder if there would be an outcry if female teachers in a Brethren school were forced to cover their hair ?
It is about time we did. There is absolutely no need whatsoever for them - if people wish to learn about their faith they should attend outside of school hours.
In this case I trust that the local authority will compel the school to change any policy which imposes religious constraints on pupils or teachers.
http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Teachers-Derby-s-Muslim-school-ordered-wear/story-19822232-detail/story.html#axzz2fTgHRdMk
Cynical manipulation. I hope the school is shut down.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/letters/10316115/Wearing-the-veil-is-not-an-issue-of-religious-tolerance-or-human-rights.html
I wouldn't say Islam is much more unjust than the Bible's first testament - it's full of stuff that modern Christians would have to ignore - and many British Muslim women don't even cover their hair because Islam only requires them to dress modestly apparently. The problem could be Muslim men with very outdated cultural views about women, much like the Cathoilic Church's attitude towards women in our ancient past but the worrying thing here is, is this Muslim school with potentially outdated views towards women passing these ideas onto the next generation of Muslim boys and girls?
Why bring Catholicism in to this. This is about islam. Incidentally Catholics did not force teachers into covering their hair nor make girls sit at the back. Islam is about 1000 years behind christianity. The only possible comparison would be during the crusades or the Spanish inquisition.
its a muslim school, 'misogynist' is part of the definition
be interesting to know where they seat any homosexuals
after years of fighting this crap in 'christian' schools we got rid of it
faith schools - another triumph of 'new labour'
TBF you could say the same about any religion for that hell in America gays are not allowed to join the scouts or get kicked out once they know they are gay and that is because the scouts are a religious based group