DAR AL HARB - U.K.: THERE IS A MOSLEM PARLIMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN?!?

Islamic Indoctrination Centres Must Be Controlled To Protect Children

Madrassas – so-called “mosque schools”, which are actually academies for indoctrination – have been criticised in a report from the ‘Muslim Parliament’ this week. The report claims that teachers in up to 40 per cent of madrassas hit their pupils and that the 20 or so sex abuse cases reported each year are considered to be only the tip of the iceberg by those who have worked in them.

Keighley Labour MP Ann Cryer is backing the call for action after being told of the physical abuse of children at madrassas in her Yorkshire constituency. The Muslim Parliament is calling for a national register of madrassas to make sure children attending them are protected, but the National Secular Society says that the whole basis of these institutions should be questioned.

Terry Sanderson, vice president of the NSS, said: “These so-called schools have one purpose and that is to indoctrinate children generally by forcing them to memorise the Koran, often in its entirety. We have reported previous cases where imams have hit and abused children who made mistakes. While physical and sexual abuse are bad enough, the abuse of the children’s right to freedom of conscience is also blatant. Such emotional manipulation should be vigorously opposed, but we, as a society, seem paralysed by the idea that such things cannot be questioned because of ‘cultural sensitivities’. But if corporal punishment is outlawed for all other children in this country, it should be outlawed for Muslim children, too. We cannot allow this parallel society to continue to develop – Britain must have one law for all, with no exceptions.”

There are thought to be some 700 madrassas in Britain, usually operating after normal school hours. Writing in the report, Dr Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, the Muslim Parliament’s leader, says fear of child abuse is leading a growing number of Muslim parents to opt for home tuition. At the report’s launch, Dr Siddiqui said: “Sweeping the issue of child abuse in UK madrassas under the carpet is not a solution. If nothing is done now we may face an avalanche of child sex-abuse scandals, decades afterwards, similar to those that rocked the Roman Catholic Church in the 1990s. To protect the integrity of these valued institutions it is important that all madrassas put in place transparent and accountable policies and procedures.”

In the report, Dr Siddiqui reveals mosques and community centres were invited to a seminar on child protection organised by the Muslim Parliament but most were reluctant to take part, fearing that to raise the issue would “further marginalise the community” or risk “opening a can of worms”.



Pertinent Links:

1) Islamic Indoctrination Centres Must Be Controlled To Protect Children