Report says some Muslim schools should be closed - but doesn't have faith in the government to do it

Civitas is an independent think tank in the UK that seeks to deepen public understanding of the legal, institutional and moral framework that makes possible a free society. It has just published a report into Muslim schools in Britain.

The report claims that the aim of some Islamic schools in the UK is to capture the next generation of Muslims for fundamentalism and to turn children away, not only from Western influence, but also from liberal and secular Muslims, whom they despise perhaps with greater vehemence than non‐Muslims.

"The approach of some of the Muslim schools we have studied is the result not of violent extremism but of religious fundamentalism" says the report. "They see non‐Muslim countries as part of the realm of unbelief and they see education as a process of inoculating children against infection by Western ideas. As far as possible they try to shield children from Western influence — hence the prohibition of art, music, and drama — but above all children are taught to reject the Western tradition of learning through discussion and argument. The liberal ideals of Milton and Locke, that we should learn to be self‐critical and teach ourselves the disinterested pursuit of truth, are held in contempt."

It recommends that where schools refuse to dissociate themselves from views such as intolerance towards non‐Muslims, anti‐Semitism, a phobia of non‐Muslim society, discriminatory attitudes towards women, bigotry towards homosexuals, a horror of men and women mixing, a belief in the legitimacy of jihad, a hatred of all unbelievers, a belief that Western civilization is utterly corrupt and must be replaced by some form of Islamic super‐state, a contempt for sports, music, dance, cinema, television, art, or any other views likely to destabilize society or compromise social cohesion, they should be closed.

Unfortunately, it also believes that the UK Government's education watchdog, Ofsted, is 'unsuited to its role', and therefore not up to the task.

Link: Music, Chess and other Sins: Segregation, Integration, and Muslim Schools in Britain