Muslim Schools

One of the fundamental aim of Muslim schools is to help the children to develop Islamic Identity which is crucial for mental, emotional and personality development. Without a positive co-relation between school and home the education of children will suffer and hinder their academic progress. There is plenty of evidence to support why majority of Muslim pupils have been leaving schools with low grades or without any qualification. State schools have even failed to teach Standard English to Muslim pupils. The result is that they could not follow National Curriculum to do better in exams. They have learned English in local accents making them misfit not only for the British society at large but also for the global village, which is used to Standard English.

British education is the home of Institutional Racism where there is no place for a foreign culture and language. The main aim of British schooling is to Anglicise children. State schools have been mis-educating and de-educating Muslim pupils making them misfit not only for the Muslim community but also for the British society at large. They do not know where they belong. They suffer from Identity Crises. The recent riots, runaway Muslim girls, unemployment, rise of Muslim youths in custody and drug addiction are the direct result of British schoolings.

In the 60s and 70s, Muslim community especially from the sub-continent was busy in setting up Masajid for congregational prayers as well as for the education of Muslim children, mainly teaching the Holly Quran in Arabic and Urdu language. Most of Islamic literature and poetry is in Urdu, therefore, it’s teaching is essential to keep in touch with their cultural roots. Evening or weekend teaching in Masajid could not help Muslim children to develop Islamic Identity because they attend state schools with teachers who have no respect for Islamic faith and Muslim community.

In the beginning of 80s, full time Muslim schools started emerging and now there are 102 schools and four of them have achieved state funding. They follow National Curriculum along with Islamic Studies, Arabic languages for all Muslim pupils and also Urdu language for the pupils from the sub-continent. The number of schools is on the increase and naturally more and more Muslim pupils will opt for Muslim schools because the silent majority of Muslim parents would like to send their children to Muslim schools. One can see the lengthy waiting lists of Muslim schools. There are many parents who have sent their children to Pakistan for education and there are others who are reluctant to bring their children, because they fear that their children will be lost in the so-called Western civilization. The young generation born and educated in state schools do not want their children to suffer bullying and racism as they suffered during their schoolings. They are the one who are trying to set up Muslim schools.

Now the Muslim community is very serious in setting up Muslim schools after riots in the Northern cities and 9/11 incident. At the same time the British government is pressurizing Muslim schools to admit at least 25% of non-Muslims. Majority of Muslim pupils attend state schools because there is a shortages of Muslim schools and majority of Muslim parents are unable to pay fees. Priority should be given to Muslim pupils for admission and there is no place for non-Muslim pupils and teachers in Muslim schools. On top of that Church leaders are urging the government to set up state funded Multi faith schools to undermine Muslim schools and I will call it a conspiracy against Muslim schools.

There was a time when Church schools were reluctant to admit non-Christians but now there is no alternative left for them but to admit Muslim children and in some of their schools, majority of pupils are Muslims. There are hundred of state schools where Muslim pupils are in majority and in my opinion all such schools should be designated as Muslim community schools under the control and management of Muslim educational Trusts or Charities. Muslim children need Muslim schools with Muslim teachers for their proper growth and development

Iftikhar Ahmad

London School of Islamics
An Educational Trust
Email: info@londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
Tel/Fax: 0208 555 2733 / 07817 112 667