Claims that a group of Muslims in Birmingham are making inroads to force out liberal and non-Muslim educators have been stocking anti-Muslim feelings across UK over the past month, amid an almost complete absence from the Muslim voice in media coverage.
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“I have been dismayed by the media coverage surrounding the “Trojan Horse” allegations, which are based upon an unsigned letter that contains factual inaccuracies which cast doubt on its genuineness,” said Mohammed Amin, a well known Muslim figure in the political arena, who spoke to OnIslam.net in a personal capacity and not representative of the organizations he is affiliated with.
“The allegations made are very serious, and need to be investigated. Meanwhile commentators should avoid jumping to conclusions, and should recognize that sometimes “whistle blowers” are motivated by public interest, while on other occasions they may be motivated by personal grievances.”
The controversy erupted after an unsigned document named the Trojan Horse letter sent last year from someone in Birmingham to someone in Bradford was leaked to the press on March 7th.
It’s content suppose that a group of Muslims in Birmingham are making efforts to force out liberal and non-Muslim educators with the support of the city’s director of education, with a view of imposing a more conservative interpretation of Islam across schools in the Midlands. After over 200 representations being made to Birmingham City Council in relation to the inquiry, more than 25 schools are now included in the probe.
Thus far, media coverage has been somewhat one-sided pandering to the whims of popular press with a view of jumping onto the Islamaphobic bandwagon.
While a handful of British Muslim figures have spoken on the subject, the difficulty faced by the Muslim community is that as there is no singular authority to represent the 2.7 million Muslims citizens in the country, the response remains fractured.
“I have avoided commenting on the detailed allegations since I do not have the relevant facts; they are what the OFSTED enquiry needs to ascertain,” Amin, who has on several occasions been listed as one of the hundred most influential Muslims in the UK, told OnIslam.net.
“The OFSTED inspectors will need to ascertain which is the case with these schools,” he added.
With a few Muslims willing to comment on the running investigation, some figures from the religious minority supported unbiased investigation to put an end to growing anti-Muslim sentiments.
“These allegations must be investigated urgently and thoroughly” Tehmina Kazi, Director of British Muslims For Secular Democracy, told OnIslam.net.
“It is scandalous that the stick of Islamophobia is being waved as a deflection strategy in relation to very real and pressing issues. For one thing, it is an insult to genuine victims of anti-Muslim sentiment.
“In a secular democracy, schools must champion inclusivity and equality for all, whether they are academies or not. These institutions should look to the Accord Coalition Inclusive Schools Award for examples of good practice,” she added.
Talha Ahmad from the Muslim Council of Britian also supported the running investigation though blaming media for jumping to tarnish the image of the whole British Muslim community.
“In a city with almost 2m people it is quite understandable that you may get complaints from time to time, and if these complaints are credible and serious enough of course they must be investigated. But I think the trouble is tone that we have heard so far in the media,” he told Channel 4 News.
“Because I lived in Birmingham, I taught in Birmingham… I don’t recognize the type of allegations that have been made. But I think what is really in danger is that the tone and narrative we have seen so far has the potential to scare off Muslim parents,” he added.
Amin, the leading British Muslim figure, echoed similar concerns surrounding biased media coverage on the issue.
“Much of the media coverage has criticized the Islamic ethos of the schools concerned, without attempting to distinguish between religious environments intended to produce confident Muslims equipped to engage with wider society and religious environments which produce Muslims who have a narrow self-exclusionary view of British society,” he told OnIslam.net.
“I believe that sadly some of the media coverage has been influenced by anti-Muslim attitudes.”
