UK school mobbed over image of Mohammed

[Glorious Hong Kong]

Batley Grammar School: Protest over image of Prophet Mohammed shown in class 'unacceptable', say education officials

A demonstration that took place outside a school after a teacher showed a caricature of the Prophet Mohammed in a class was "completely unacceptable", the Department for Education has said.

A DfE spokesperson said the "nature of protest we have seen, including issuing threats and in violation of coronavirus restrictions" must end.

Dozens of people, including parents, had gathered outside Batley Grammar School in West Yorkshire on Thursday morning to demonstrate.

Video footage posted on social media showed men wearing masks crowding around the school gate.

A teacher has been suspended and the school has apologised for using the image, admitting it was "totally inappropriate".

Depictions of the Prophet Mohammed are considered deeply offensive in the Muslim faith.

One parent at the school said the cartoon was taken from Charlie Hebdo, the French satirical magazine that was attacked in 2015 by Islamist terrorists who killed 12 people in Paris.

On Thursday evening, the DfE spokesperson said: "It is never acceptable to threaten or intimidate teachers. We encourage dialogue between parents and schools when issues emerge.

"Schools are free to include a full range of issues, ideas and materials in their curriculum, including where they are challenging or controversial, subject to their obligations to ensure political balance.

"They must balance this with the need to promote respect and tolerance between people of different faiths and beliefs, including in deciding which materials to use in the classroom."

The caricature was shown to students in a lesson on 22 March, according to a letter to parents seen by Sky News.

Head teacher Gary Kibble said on Thursday: "The school unequivocally apologises for using a totally inappropriate image in a recent religious studies lesson. It should not have been used.

"A member of staff has also relayed their most sincere apologies. We have immediately withdrawn teaching on this part of the course and we are reviewing how we go forward with the support of all our communities represented in our school.

"It is important for children to learn about faiths and beliefs, but this must be done in a respectful, sensitive way.

"A member of staff has been suspended pending an independent formal investigation."

People had gathered outside the school to demand the resignation of the teacher involved.

A police officer read a statement from Batley Grammar as protesters shouted that they wanted the member of staff "sacked".

The letter to parents read: "The school would like to thank the parents who contacted us on Monday 22 March highlighting concerns with a resource used in an RS lesson that day.

"Upon investigation, it was clear that the resource used in the lesson was completely inappropriate and had the capacity to cause great offence to members of our school community, for which we would like to offer sincere and full apology."

In a letter addressed to Mr Kibble and shared online, founder of Batley-based charity Purpose Of Life, Mohammad Sajad Hussain, said he was "deeply hurt" by the "insulting caricatures of our beloved Prophet Mohammed".

Yunus Lunat, an executive member of the Indian Muslim Welfare Society in Batley, told Sky News he thinks the teacher "went off script" and was trying to "provoke".

"They talk about freedom of expression, but I question what freedom of expression has to do with an RE lesson," he said.

"You will never see an image of the Prophet Mohammed in our mosque, in any mosque in the world. It's not acceptable."

He added: "That gives you some sense of understating as to why these cartoons cause aggravation."

Mr Lunat said he also fears the debate may be "hijacked" by people not directly related to the school.

West Yorkshire Police said it was called to the protest at around 7.30am on Thursday.

A police spokesman said the school road had been closed for a short time, no arrests were made and no fines were issued.

The National Secular Society called the demonstration an "attempt to impose an Islamic blasphemy taboo on a school".

The society's chief executive, Stephen Evans, said: "Teachers must have a reasonable degree of freedom to explore sensitive subjects and enable students to think critically about them.

"And the school's weak response will fuel a climate of censorship, which is brought on by attempts to force society as a whole to accommodate unreasonable and reactionary religious views."

It's happening all over again. Yet another angry mob descends on yet another school in yet another liberal European country over the use of an image of the so-called "prophet" Mohammed. The war for freedom, particularly freedom of expression, rages on even in one of the most liberal, democratic, secular countries in the world.

These cowardly "protesters" swarming a local school are nothing more than theocratic hooligans attempting to intimidate a school into submission and impose their religious beliefs on all non-Muslims as they have regularly done both in the Muslim world as well as in predominantly non-Muslim Europe. I really, really doubt their intentions are the slightest bit "peaceful" or "tolerant". Their intent is as clear as day. We all know exactly what it is that they want to see happen in Britain and around the world, and it ain't pretty.

How long until someone gets beheaded, I wonder? How long until the British PM makes a speech upholding freedom of expression and outraged Muslims around the world take to the streets to condemn the speech, condemn Britain, condemn Europe, condemn Western civilization, and condemn freedom, instead of being outraged over the fact that someone was beheaded by a fellow Muslim because their religious fee-fees matter far more than the life of an actual, living, breathing human being that was brutally snuffed out in cold blood?

How long until "moderate" Muslims make excuses, shift the blame, victim-blame, divert attention toward attacks on Muslims, and fail to unequivocally stand with non-Muslim victims of Muslim supremacist violence and persecution because only they get to be the "oppressed victims", which is exactly what happened in the French beheadings thread?

What's really sad is that the school ultimately caved to the threats, the gaslighting, the woke guilt-tripping, and the intimidation when it was the angry mob of thugs and hooligans, not the school or its teachers, that were doing the provoking. Let's hope the Tory government can successfully reverse this woke trend toward increasing capitulation to feelings over facts and feelings over freedom and human rights and put these hooligans in their place.

Was the school right to display an image of Mohammed? Was it wrong to apologize? Was the angry mob that descended on a local grammar school over a cartoon out of line? Should the authorities deal with them appropriately?

Should we stand with Britain and uphold freedom of expression at all costs, or are the wishy-washy religious fee-fees of an extremely intolerant, fundamentalist minority way more important than the human rights and democratic civil liberties of the vast majority of people in the UK who don't share their totalitarian, theocratic vision? Should secularists and non-Muslims learn to stand up for their rights no matter where they are in the world?

I hope the Conservative government that was duly elected by anti-wokists and anti-leftists grows a pair and gets tough with these Islamist theocrats and bullies. I trust Home Secretary Priti Patel will deliver accordingly. The Johnson administration has already won me over on BLM, illegal immigration, and its successful vaccination rollout, making the United Kingdom a moral leader and role model on the world stage while the useless EU next door flounders in its own moral hypocrisy and stupidity over its failed vaccination rollout and right-wing vaccine nationalism, among other things. Let's hope the British government continues to impress me with regards to radical Islamic extremism and religious cultural imperialism.

I hope that so-called "moderate" Muslims come to realize that wishy-washy religious fee-fees are not a license to discriminate, that they are not always "oppressed victims" in every instance, and that the human rights, freedoms, dignity, feelings, beliefs, and lives of non-Muslims matter as much as those of Muslims, because ALL LIVES MATTER, not just some lives. I hope they come to realize that "all men are created equal", not that "all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others". They need to learn to be more humble and accepting of those of other faiths or no faith instead of adopting an entitled attitude of "do as I say, but not as I do". Anything less is the moral equivalent of white supremacy and religious chauvinism.

I hope non-Muslims in Britain and around the world are able to cut through the gaslighting BS and realize that they're the ones being bullied and intimidated by intolerant Islamist and fundamentalist extremists, not the other way around, and that not all extremists engage in violence.

[Phaenix]

While I think that the firing of the teacher was a bit extreme, considering that they were in a religious studies class, I agree with the school's decision to agree to the demonstrators demands. It is a lesson on religions, and since it is offensive in the Muslim faith to depict the Prophet Mohammad, the teacher should've known better then to show that caricature. And since you consider these demonstrators, who are exercising their legal right to assemble, to be attacking freedom of speech, and obviously wish they would not voice their frustrations, wouldn't that make you a hypocrite? You like the freedom of speech, but only when it benefits you? If you truly wish freedom of speech to be protected, you would either simply disagree with the demonstrators and voice your opinion without hinting at eliminating their freedom of speech and expression, or say nothing at all. And since you decided to, for whatever reason, say, "All lives matter," I'll say Black Lives Matter, just for shits and giggles.

[The Reformed American Republic]

Enlightenment values are non-negotiable.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

You kinda had me till you went on a rant about the evils of "moderate Muslims."

[Fartsniffage]

The image shown was apparently from the French publication Charlie Hebdo,

[Phaenix]

The image shown was apparently from the French publication Charlie Hebdo,

The subject of attacks and protests because of its admittedly offensive depictions of the Prophet Mohammad and Muslims in general.

[Ifreann]

It's happening all over again. Yet another angry mob descends on yet another school in yet another liberal European country...

Britain isn't a liberal European country.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

It's happening all over again. Yet another angry mob descends on yet another school in yet another liberal European country...

Britain isn't a liberal European country.

Anywhere run by Boris Johnson is a dystopian hellhole.

[Picairn]

"Culture wars, the melter of brains." - Kowani, probably.

[Phaenix]

It's happening all over again. Yet another angry mob descends on yet another school in yet another liberal European country...

Britain isn't a liberal European country.

In GHK's eyes, Britain probably is a liberal paradise where Boris is the pinnacle of moral excellence. Terrifying.

[Old Tyrannia]

It was clearly inappropriate for the teacher to show Muslim pupils an offensive image of the Prophet Mohammed in class, and the school's decision to make a full public apology and suspend the teacher in question seems like the right one to me. Speaking as a Christian, if I had a child and they came home one day and told me that their teacher had shown them an offensive image of, say, Christ or the Blessed Virgin in their Religious Education class, I would not be happy about it; and that's without taking into account the general prohibition on images in Islam, which doesn't exist in traditional Christianity. That being said, I don't know all the details of the case in question and if it turns out that the teacher made reasonable accommodations for his pupils' faith- for example by inviting Muslim students to leave the room before showing the images, as the teacher in France who was murdered last year reportedly did- then that would significantly alter my opinion.

In light of the school's response, I don't see what reason there is for further protests, especially if students and teachers are feeling threatened and the children's education is being disrupted. Unfortunately there is a pervasive radical element in the British Muslim community which likes to aggravate any conflict between the community and the rest of society for the sake of furthering its own agenda. I would like to see moderate Muslims be more proactive in condemning the highjacking of incidents like this by the radicals amongst their ranks.

[Borderlands of Rojava]

It was clearly inappropriate for the teacher to show Muslim pupils an offensive image of the Prophet Mohammed in class, and the school's decision to make a full public apology and suspend the teacher in question seems like the right one to me. Speaking as a Christian, if I had a child and they came home one day and told me that their teacher had shown them an offensive image of, say, Christ or the Blessed Virgin in their Religious Education class, I would not be happy about it; and that's without taking into account the general prohibition on images in Islam, which doesn't exist in traditional Christianity. That being said, I don't know all the details of the case in question and if it turns out that the teacher made reasonable accommodations for his pupils' faith- for example by inviting Muslim students to leave the room before showing the images, as the teacher in France who was murdered last year reportedly did- then that would significantly alter my opinion.

In light of the school's response, I don't see what reason there is for further protests, especially if students and teachers are feeling threatened and the children's education is being disrupted. Unfortunately there is a pervasive radical element in the British Muslim community which likes to aggravate any conflict between the community and the rest of society for the sake of furthering its own agenda. I would like to see moderate Muslims be more proactive in condemning the highjacking of incidents like this by the radicals amongst their ranks.

Maybe Muslims could form AntiIs. Antislamist Action.

[Roegerland]

Here we go again...

When will these spoilt brats learn that just because your feelings get hurt, that doesn't mean you are entitled to anything? YOU ARE NOT THE VICTIMS. And to local authorities, schools etc.: stop bending over backwards to appease these people, bullies need to be stood up to, they've got nothing to offer you but trouble.

Other than that, while I won't join in on the praise laid on Johnson's government (I think it to be predictably weak and un-decisive), I agree wholeheartedly with OP on this.

[Nimzonia]

The way people are reacting to this story, you'd think displaying cartoons of Mohammed was a core value of British society.

For fuck's sake, get a grip. Producing or displaying cartoons of Mohammed isn't an everyday British thing that we're being denied the pleasure of doing by religious extremists bent on world domination. It's something that literally nobody does for any reason except to provoke and upset a minority community who have asked repeatedly for people to stop doing it. It really isn't the slightest incovnenience to anybody in Britain to simply have the common courtesy to not do an utterly unnecessary thing that you know perfectly well is going to upset people.

[The New California Republic]

The image shown was apparently from the French publication Charlie Hebdo,

The bomb turban one? Yeah as soon as I saw the news I instantly thought "oh it's the bomb turban thing again..."

[Trollzyn the Infinite]

Reminder that the rule against depictions of Muhammad is to keep Muslims from committing idolatry by worshiping his image.

It's a rule made specifically for Muslims and does not apply to the rest of us.

[Ifreann]

Reminder that the rule against depictions of Muhammad is to keep Muslims from committing idolatry by worshiping his image.

It's a rule made specifically for Muslims and does not apply to the rest of us.

You can't rules lawyer people into not being angry.

[Trollzyn the Infinite]

Reminder that the rule against depictions of Muhammad is to keep Muslims from committing idolatry by worshiping his image.

It's a rule made specifically for Muslims and does not apply to the rest of us.

You can't rules lawyer people into not being angry.

Maybe if they'd actually follow their own religion properly instead of engaging in reactionary fundamentalism they wouldn't be angry in the first place.

[Fartsniffage]

The image shown was apparently from the French publication Charlie Hebdo,

The bomb turban one? Yeah as soon as I saw the news I instantly thought "oh it's the bomb turban thing again..."

I don't know which one. Funnily enough, no one seems to be publishing it....

[Vassenor]

Former Conservative Party chairwoman Baroness Warsi said the debate has been hijacked by "extremists on both sides" to fuel a "culture war" at the expense of "kids and their learning".

She told the BBC she had spoken to pupils and parents over the last 24 hours and "that many pupils were left distressed because of what happened".

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, she said: "It's about safeguarding children and making sure the school look again, as should every school, to ensure that every pupil in their school is being taught in a way which creates a positive, unifying learning environment."

Labour MP for Batley and Spen, Tracey Brabin, condemned those who "seek to fan the flames of this incident", and said she welcomed the school's apology.

So how does it feel to be part of the problem?

[The New California Republic]

The bomb turban one? Yeah as soon as I saw the news I instantly thought "oh it's the bomb turban thing again..."

I don't know which one. Funnily enough, no one seems to be publishing it....

Are the images like the legend of Medusa, i.e. if they only show it with the aid of a mirror then they don't get turned to stone picketed by Muslim demonstrators?

[Fartsniffage]

I don't know which one. Funnily enough, no one seems to be publishing it....

Are the images like the legend of Medusa, i.e. if they only show it with the aid of a mirror then they don't get turned to stone picketed by Muslim demonstrators?

Charlie Hebdo published it and a bunch of them got shot. I don't thing The S*n "journalists" have the backbone to risk it. As much as they would like to.

[Roegerland]

Former Conservative Party chairwoman Baroness Warsi said the debate has been hijacked by "extremists on both sides" to fuel a "culture war" at the expense of "kids and their learning".

She told the BBC she had spoken to pupils and parents over the last 24 hours and "that many pupils were left distressed because of what happened".

Speaking on Radio 4's Today programme, she said: "It's about safeguarding children and making sure the school look again, as should every school, to ensure that every pupil in their school is being taught in a way which creates a positive, unifying learning environment."

Labour MP for Batley and Spen, Tracey Brabin, condemned those who "seek to fan the flames of this incident", and said she welcomed the school's apology.

So how does it feel to be part of the problem?

Lol still jumping down the throats of those who dare upset your precious islam eh? Because letting your voice be heard and speaking out against the bullying and harassment including death threats (remember Samuel Patty?) of a teacher who upset the very fragile feelings and sensibilities of religious extremists is the real problem here obviously. As a side note, Warsi and Brabin can quite frankly fuck right off.

[The New California Republic]

Are the images like the legend of Medusa, i.e. if they only show it with the aid of a mirror then they don't get turned to stone picketed by Muslim demonstrators?

Charlie Hebdo published it and a bunch of them got shot. I don't thing The S*n "journalists" have the backbone to risk it. As much as they would like to.

The Mirror would be apt...

[Vassenor]

So how does it feel to be part of the problem?

Lol still jumping down the throats of those who dare upset your precious islam eh? Because letting your voice be heard and speaking out against the bullying and harassment including death threats (remember Samuel Patty?) of a teacher who upset the very fragile feelings and sensibilities of religious extremists is the real problem here obviously. As a side note, Warsi and Brabin can quite frankly fuck right off.

Still shoving words in my mouth, I see. Very predictable.