Education and Schooling
UK teacher’s union votes to challenge Ofsted’s stance on banning hijabs in schools
A motion at the National Education Union’s annual conference has said that Ofsted’s stance on banning hijabs in schools risks community cohesion, with delegates commenting its ‘muscular liberalism’ is Islamophobic and racist.
- Discrimination and Xenophobia
- Education and Schooling
- Gender Issues and the Hijab/Burqa
- Immigration and Integration
- Interfaith and Multicultural Engagement
- Islamic Practice
- Issues in Politics
- Muslim Advocacy and Organizations
- Public Opinion and Islam in the Media
- Radicalization
- United Kingdom
- Youth and Pop Culture
‘The Silence of the Liberals’ criticises the British left-wing for damaging the voices of progressive Muslims, but this criticism lacks a nuance
Nick Cohen discusses how the British left-wing fail to support, and sometimes undermine, liberal progressive Muslims who are fighting inequalities endorsed by culture and religion in their community. But his argument fails to appreciate the nuances of the current debates surrounding British Muslim communities.
Spectator article criticises reaction to ban on primary school girls wearing headscarves
A January article from the Spectator discusses the emergence of two distinct Muslim cultures in Britain. Cohen writes of the reaction to St Stephen’s primary school in Newham banning the wearing of the headscarf for girls under the age of eight, drawing links to issues of Muslim engagement with public life and counter-extremism efforts in the UK.
Teacher convicted of attempting to radicalise 110 pupils, continuing the debate about Ofsted’s measures for targeting extremism
Umar Haque, who taught at two schools and at a madrassa, has been convicted of attempting to radicalise 110 of his pupils despite Ofsted inspections at the schools not revealing any concern of extremism. Questions have been raised about extending Ofsted’s powers to combat extremism as a result, a topic which is already controversial.
Study explores possible religious factors underlying the educational attainment gap between Pakistani boys and their White-British counterparts
The study finds that attendance at madrassahs may negatively impact the educational attainment of Pakistani boys in the UK. However, there are a number of other factors that contribute to the attainment gap between this demographic and their White-British counterparts, and the influence of madrassahs is not all bad.