Monday’s Dispatches programme on Channel 4 is, for some reason, still not available to view online on the usual Dispatches page at the time of writing. The documentary featured scenes filmed undercover appearing to depict teachers and other adults (sometimes visiting) in Islamic independent schools  hitting children and delivering hateful messages about non-Muslims, encouraging the children to shun non-Muslims and even Muslims deemed not Muslim enough.

The BHA responded by pointing out that the problems in the schools reflect wider concerns and stand to be replicated in new ‘free schools’. New education campaigns officer, Jenny Pennington, commented, ’It is very worrying that a school that has been given a clean bill of health in this area from inspectors can teach young children abhorrent, intolerant views about people of other religions and non-religious beliefs. The evidence presented by the documentary is especially concerning at a time when the Government is moving to give state funded schools much greater autonomy over their curriculum whilst actually proposing to reduce the scope of Ofsted inspections.’

The usual anonymous idiots have threatened to fire-bomb the building (as if the bricks and mortar are to blame, and as if that’s going to solve anything). One of the schools will complain to Ofcom claiming that the footage was selectively chosen and/or out of context. A man shown physically striking children at the school has already been arrested.

Police have arrested a man concerning alleged assaults on children at a mosque after viewing a Channel 4 documentary screened on Monday.

Dispatches, Lessons in Hate and Violence, secretly filmed a man apparently hitting and kicking children during Qu’ran lessons at a school in the Markazi Jamia mosque at Keighley, West Yorkshire.

An Islamic school in Birmingham in the same documentary, where a preacher was filmed making offensive remarks about non-Muslims, said it would close early for half-term, amid fears pupils could be the target of far-right groups.

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/feb/14/mosque-schools-arrest-channel-4