Established 1981
London School of Islamics
An Educational Trust
63 Margery Park Road London E7 9LD
Email:
[email protected]www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
Tel/Fax: 0208 555 2733 / 07817 112 667
Clash of Ignorance
Kilroy was airing views of racist elements in British society. His column was an idiotic rant. The West as it exists today is the product of Islamic science, civilisation, culture and learning. Western history is related to Islam. Westerners are not well informed about history. It is not just Robert Kilroy-Silk who rants against Arab culture and Muslim faith. Prejudice against Islam has become a disease and attacks on Masajid and Muslim cemeteries are now routine. His comments highlight the irrational bases of racism. Muslims are victimized under the cover of ongoing war against terrorism through out the world. One of the teacher’s unions, ATL regards Muslim schools as Osama bin Laden Academies.
Cradles of civilization are firmly rooted on Arab lands. Throughout the long centuries when Europe was plunged in its Dark Ages, Arabs preserved, enriched and transmitted great scientific culture upon which West could build. Kilroy has only reflected a commonly held view about Arab Muslims. It has been the daily portrayals of Arabs in all sorts of media, schoolbooks and history books are full of anti Arab Muslims.
The native Britis needs to be educated about Islam. Muslim children also need to be educated about Islamic history, otherwise, they will be cut off from their cultural roots. We have already lost three generations and the fourth one is in the process of loosing its Islamic Identity. State schools are slaughter houses for the Muslim children. According to a new report the National Curriculum is racist. It failed to motivate or interest pupils because it did not provide enough positive role models. The curriculum needs to be more balanced and less Eurocentric. Pupils grow up thinking there is no other playwright than Shakespeare. Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models. They need to learn Standard English to follow the national Curriculum and go for higher studies and research to serve humanity. They need to learn Arabic to study and understand the Holly Quran. The children from the sub-continent need to learn Urdu language to keep in touch with their cultural roots. Most of Islamic literature and poetry is in Urdu.
The Islamic contribution to world civilization is completely ignored by the National Curriculum. The leading civilization between 8th and the 18th centuries on the planet in terms of spread and creativity was Islam. It is not exaggeration to say that the European Renaissance, and therefore, most of modern science, was based to a large extent on Arab scholarship. The cultural and scientific legacy of the Arabs, through the Moors, is massive and has been long over looked. The Moors kindled and kept alive the flame of knowledge in Spain for centuries at a time when the Dark Ages had expunged it elsewhere. When the Moors were driven from Spain they left behind vast knowledge, despite a public mass burning of the libraries. Islam is portrayed in the negative and confrontational context of the Crusades. The Crusaders came to know Islam’s civilisation, sciences and literatures and some learned the language of the local people. The clergy did not like those returning from the East praising aspects of the Islamic civilisation and Islamic ethics and expressing their admiration for the science and culture of the Muslims. Islam and West view one another with mistrust and suspicion. A historian might say they always have. Now it has entered a new phase.
Islam is the Britain’s second religion. Paki-bashing is in full swing by British education system, politicians, media and every Tom and Harry. Muslim pupils as well as teachers are victim of physical and verbal abuse but the authorities try to hide every thing under the carpet. Recently a teacher in Peterborough tore off Muslim pupil’s scarf and told her that Islam is all a “big joke”. I find lot of British teachers discouraging Muslim girls to wear hejab. There is a social and economic pressure on Muslim women not to cover themselves. Muslim teachers have no right to take time off to perform Friday obligatory prayers in the Masajid. France, Belgium and Germany are in the process of banning Muslim girls covering their heads in state schools. Offensive prejudice against Muslims and the spread of idiotic stereotypes of Muslims beliefs, have been developing at a frightening rate since 9/11. There is no alternative left for the Muslim community but to have Muslim schools with Muslim teachers. There are hundred of state schools with Muslim majority. In my opinion all such schools may be designated as Muslim community schools.
Iftikhar Ahmad
