Let's Hear it for Tolerance...

In a move that is sure to ignite heated debate not only about education, but also the direction of the United Kingdom, an undercover investigation by the BBC has discovered that schools under the auspices of the "Saudi Students Clubs and Schools in the UK and Ireland" organisation have been teaching some really interesting content. The investigation also uncovered that this content is being taught in some schools in the UK that are owned by the government of Saudi Arabia.

The schools in question are located throughout Britain and are "teaching" somewhere up to 5000 impressionable students from the ages of six to eighteen. The challenging content includes teaching students about Sharia Law, particularly the more brutal and heinous punishments available. For example, students are being taught that thieves will have their hand cut off for a first offense and then a foot for any subsequent offense.

Interestingly, the students are being taught that the process is humane as the stump where one's hand used to be is cauterised so as to prevent the thief from bleeding to death.

Some of the other juicer educational experiences include reminding students that homosexuality is an abomination in the eyes of Allah. Therefore, suitable punishments for homosexuals include stoning them to death, burning them to death, and throwing them off a cliff. The common denominator here being that homosexuals must die for their sins.

Funnily enough, the Jews do not miss out either in these weekend schools. Students are taught that those evil Jews are hell bent on world domination. And, if given the chance they will seek to take over and control all of the world's wealth and resources.

Ultimately, the theme of all this content seems to be "if you do not follow Islam, or convert immediately, then you are going to be damned to hell!"

Nothing like preaching a little love and tolerance, is there?


Apparently, Ofsted, the British educational watchdog, is doing a little investigating of its own and will soon report to the Education Minister, Michael Gove. I might try and see if I can follow this story through to its conclusion, if for no other reason than I am interested in the implications of teaching such content in schools generally.

To be honest, I do not see any problems with teaching the fundamentals of Sharia Law and what punishments are available under that system. It could be done in a manner that is comparative and without bias. However, the teaching of content that suggests that Jews are focused on world domination through control of financial and natural resources combined with the idea that any one who is not Muslim is damned to hell is likely to be much more problematic and controversial.

The anti-Semitism in the textbooks is surely going to get people fired up. The whole affair is likely to see some interesting to and fro in the cyber-sphere on all manner of things ranging from political correctness to tolerance.

I am surprised that I am yet to see the arguments rehashed that suggest within 20 years Britain will be a Muslim State under Sharia Law. Perhaps even the more extreme protagonists will start to suggest that this is the tip of the iceberg and it will not be long before Europe is an Islamic Caliphate. Hence, the poster and the idea that it will not take long to ignite differences to a flash point.

Does it all start with education?

A Short History: Islam

I have just finished reading this book titled, A Short History: Islam. The book is by William Montgomery Watt. Watt passed in 2006. The blurb says that Watt was a bit of a legend in the field. The book was an easy read. It was really concise and left me wondering that there is probably a lot more that one would need to read in order to get a grip on all of the bits and pieces that were introduced throughout.

However, I would tend to agree with the reviews contained in the book that it is an easy to navigate introduction to Islam. I learned a lot by taking the time to read it. I read it in three sittings. That is not to suggest that it is not a page turner, interesting, or worthy. To the contrary, the three sittings were the result of the time available in between feeding, changing nappies, and bathing little Will.

However, the purpose of this post is not a detailed review of the book, but rather to throw up a couple of points that Watt makes for discussion with respect to the problems facing Islam today.

1. "The basic legal ideas of Islam are sound, but they need to be adapted to the changed circumstances of today."

2. "... it is unreasonable to suppose that a return to the Islam of Muhammad and the rightly guided caliphs is literally possible."

3. "Was the period of the rightly guided caliphs really an ideal period?"

4. "For Islam to take its proper place in a multireligious world, it is important that Muslims should admit that there is at least a large measure of truth in other religions."

Just some food for thought for my small but loyal readership.