On June 17, I reported in PART 4 that a whistleblower had uncovered a plot in Birmingham, England by Islamic activists to impose strict conservative values in schools. Some of their specific goals included replacing Head Teachers by Muslim Head Teachers, segregating male and female students, downplaying music and art in the curriculum and teaching a very narrow Islamic theology. Investigations into the allegations revealed evidence that these activities began as early as 2002. Local Member of Parliament Khalid Mahmood, said he believed that children had been at risk of being "groomed" into supporting an extremely conservative form of Islam. British officials also confirmed that around 500 British nationals had traveled to the middle east to fight for ISIS in Syria and Iraq.
The response from the government has been twofold: 1) Peter Clarke, formerly Britain's chief counter terrorist police officer, was commissioned to investigate and prepare a full report. When his findings have been published later this summer, I will write a blog update. 2) The government is revising the school curriculum throughout the country to include units on "British Values".
All parties in Parliament unanimously support this initiative. Tristram Hunt, the opposition Labour Party's "shadow" education minister had a very interesting take on how to do it:
"We need a curriculum that inculcates a sense of identity beyond race and religion, we need to promote a common culture and a sense of ownership of the institutions and functions of the British state and civil society, together with the ideals and values they embody........ Britishness is best developed through the everyday practice of schooling: effective English language teaching; strong student councils; access for all pupils to our defining cultural, heritage and sporting centres. Above all, we have to ensure that communities are united rather than divided by education, and exposed to new ideas."
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