Wednesday 17 February 2010

A reply to an isolationist British Muslim

I received the following e-mail the other week:

Established 1981

London School of Islamics

An Educational Trust

63 Margery Park Road London E7 9LD

Email: info@londonschoolofislamic
s.org.uk
www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

Tel/Fax: 0208 555 2733 / 07817 112 667

Broken Britain

Britain has a broken society. This is a dark portrait but it is very true. Children are left to rot and they grew into animals. Binge drinking, drug addiction, a culture of disrespect and antisocial behavior, teenage pregnancies and abortions, knife and gun culture are part and parcel of every day life in all big city centers. The teenage pregnancies and the sheer madness of sex education teach nothing about morality. British society is suffering from unprecedented social decay and societal breakdown, according to the Children’s Society shocking evidence. Britain has more broken families than other countries. British children are rougher with each other, and live more riskily in terms of alcohol, drugs and teenage pregnancies. Britain 's rate of teenage pregnancy is the highest in Western Europe . According to official figures, nearly half of all babies are now born out of wedlock. They are more likely to suffer social, mental and emotional problems. Research has revealed that migrants in Britain are more likely to have children within marriage. The teaching of sex education could not curb teenage pregnancies. Infact, it has simply increased. This is a clear indication of broken society. It is an eye opening for the Muslim community who sends their children to state schools with non-Muslim monolingual teachers.

In broken Britain , the break downs of family are ripping apart communities. According to a report, Scottish schools like English schools have become home for rapes, gun and knife culture, drug dealing, gang culture and racism. It is a horrendous portrayal of the collapse of civilized life and of human despair. Carrying weapons is becoming the norms, violence is “routine” and families are terrorized by gangs. Every parent is worried about his child being indoctrinated into the idea that gay and sexual promiscuity is “normal” modes of behavior. Homosexuality was regarded as mental illness but now blue eyed western educated elites are its defenders and promoters. The spectre of hidden epidemic of sex crimes inside Britain ’s classrooms has emerged after Scotland Yard revealed there have been nearly 900 rapes or sex attacks in schools. The vast majority of victims were school children under the age of 16. As many as one in three were under 11. According to official figures, hundreds of children under the age of 12 were treated for addiction to drink and drugs.

Children are being taught that sexually transmitted diseases could be easily treated and there is no acknowledgement of the emotional harm of premature sexual activity. The truth is that more sex education and contraception are provided to children and teenagers, the more they fall pregnant. Studies have shown that access to contraception and sex education, sexual activity and conception and pregnancy rates go up. The sexual health of young Londoners is a “major public health issue” and still among the worst in the country, despite innovative projects and improvements in services.

The demand for Muslim schools comes from parents who want their children a
safe environment with an Islamic ethos. Parents see Muslim schools where children can develop their Islamic Identity where they won't feel stigmatised for being Muslims and they can feel confident about their faith. The significance and value of Muslim schools is that the Islamic religion imposed obligations of good citizenship, keeping the peace and paying taxes. While ambition of state school is to get children humping each other before they are out of primary school and giving them parenting classes when they are fourteen to help the girls cope with the babies they will have conceived at thirteen.

Iftikhar Ahmad

. * * * .


Dear Iftikhar,

The picture you paint of British schools has some truth but by no means complete. Most major cities have sink schools in which generations are wasted but to use these as representative of the entire state of Britain and our education system is selecting facts to suit your own agenda. To be frank, many of your statements are just gratuitous and insulting, as well as being wrong. In fact, in one sentence you manage to be both racist and homophobic. If there were awards for bigotry, that would be a contender.

I'm more worried though about your proposed solution. If a school has problems, surely the best way to progress is through gaining the support of the community of which the school is part. This is done through many paths: school governors, parents' councils, direct involvement in day-to-day school life. On top of this is local political supervision as well as governmental inspection. You propose a different route: segregation. You imagine islands of civilisation among jungles of savages.

I don't think you understand Britain. If faced with a problem, a local community does its best to face that problem together. There maybe alternative paths to a solution, but common ground is sought out and used as a basis for progress. So your answer, for Muslim families to flee to educational fortresses, of which you would doubtless be the gatekeeper, does disservice to them and to the greater community. Your letter is a crude attempt to scaremonger, to isolate and ultimately to control Muslim communities within Britain. You must know that the more communities isolate themselves, the less they will be understood and the more bigotry they will face. But I suspect that would suit you just fine.

Your e-mail saddens me. I hope, as a representative of an educational trust, you can broaden your viewpoint in future.

Regards

Martin Veart.