(Liverpool) The Association of Teachers and Lecturers’ annual conference
just took place in Liverpool and there Teachers stated that parents who are
taking their children out of Religious Education (RE) classes because they don't
want them learning about Islam are racist and that these so called racist
parents are tampering with schools' attempts to prepare youngsters for modern
society in the UK.
Tales were related of instances where parents with
prejudices including "including Islamophobia and anti-Semitism" wanted
to remove their children from certain lessons or visiting places of worship -
as opposed to instances where parents object based on religious beliefs. The
union is urging the Government to take steps in ensuring parents do not selectively
prevent their children learning about individual religions.
So much for freedom of expression eh. Funny enough as a child growing up, Muslim students at my school did not have to attend RE lessons and spent the time in an empty classroom doing nothing. I know I went once, but returned to the RE lessons as I had and felt no affinity to the rest of the group.
