Newsline 21 August 2015

Newsline 21 August 2015

If you aren't a member already please consider joining the NSS today to help support our campaign work, which is entirely funded by our members' and supporters' contributions. Read on to see all of our news (and more) from the past week.

Please note that there will not be an issue of Newsline next week. Newsline will return on Friday 4 September.

News, Blogs & Opinion

Muslim-majority school to integrate genders, despite protests from parents

News | Mon, 17th Aug 2015

A Muslim-majority, non-faith school is to integrate boys' and girls' classes for the first time, after being placed in special measures by Ofsted.

The Crest Academies in Brent, a secular, non-denominational school which has previously taught the genders separately, has faced protests from parents after the headteacher announced plans to teach boys and girls together as part of his bid to turn the failing school around.

A petition against the move drew nearly three-hundred signatures with petitioners listing a number of reasons for rejecting the move, including one who said "I am signing this because my younger sister [will] be attending the school and I do not wish for her to be exposed to the other gender as I am a MUSLIM male who does not approve of this."

He added that the reason she applied to the school was "the segregation" of students by gender.

Many other petitioners objected because the school had a history as two separate institutions, with distinct boys' and girls' school, or over fears that integrating teaching would lead to poorer outcomes for female students.

Another petitioner said "boys and girls should be in separate building" and one warned that parents wouldn't send their children to a mixed school. "Crest has always been segregated and should always be like that," said one complainant.

The petition said that Brent was one of the most "diverse communities in the UK" with a range of cultural and religious "preferences".

An Ofsted inspection in January 2015, which rated the school as inadequate, said: "Boys and girls are separated for teaching, in the playgrounds, at lunchtime and around the Academy. This limits opportunities for them to work together, socialise and learn to get on."

There were also marked differences in attainment between male and female pupils. Ofsted found that "boys' attitudes to learning are not as positive as those of girls" and that girls' "progress in English is better than that found nationally." The inspectors made several criticisms of boys' teaching, and noted that marking was "generally better in girls' books."

The Crest Academies were formed from a merger of the Crest Boys' and Crest Girls' academies, and Ofsted noted that while the minimum standard was met by the former girls' Academy, it was not by the boys' and the combined school did not meet the required standard either.

In spite of the difficulties the school faced, "parental preference rather than educational value" resulted in the continued gender separation in the merged Academy, and Ofsted noted that "this approach does not promote equal opportunities for all."

Inspectors also criticised the "separate teaching of personal, moral and cultural development" which they said "limits opportunities for social interaction and debate between boys and girls". This arrangement was failing to prepare students "fully for life in modern Britain", they reported.

Despite combining the two academies, students were still segregated by gender and taught separately. Headteacher Mohsen Ojja has now initiated reforms and wrote in the TES that he had a "moral duty" to "prepare young people for modern Britain" and that things at the school "had to change" after the sharply critical Ofsted report.

"One year on, we have revisited the decision to educate boys and girls separately, and the start of the new school year will see the emergence of the Crest Academy, offering co-education for the first time."

He added that move had not been "without controversy" and said that parents had been much less supportive than students and staff. The Brent and Kilburn Times reported that there was "anger" from parents over the plans, back in July.

"Running two schools in parallel, split by gender, was tantamount to unhealthy segregation," Mr Ojja said.

"The move to a single, multi-faith, proudly diverse school is the first important step to integration. Moreover, I am the principal of a secular, non-denominational school that has a large majority of Muslim students. This does not make the school a Muslim school where segregation of gender should be pursued."

National Secular Society campaigns manager, Stephen Evans, commented: "It's encouraging to see the headteacher stressing the secular nature of the school and taking a principled stance in the face of unreasonable demands for religiously based gender segregation. Religious considerations shouldn't be placed above the educational needs of pupils, nor should gender segregation be considered acceptable for religious reasons in a state school."

NSS welcomes Welsh Government plans to reform RE

News | Wed, 19th Aug 2015

The National Secular Society has written to Huw Lewis, the Welsh Education Minister, in support of his plans to reform RE and rename the subject "religion, philosophy and ethics".

The move follows a fundamental review of curriculum and assessment arrangements in Wales by Professor Graham Donaldson, a former chief inspector of schools, who urged pupils to be "ethical, informed citizens of the world".

The Welsh Government said a new curriculum could help "develop respect and understanding for other cultures".

Huw Lewis told the Senedd that there would be "an explicit commitment to allowing children to ponder ideas around ethics and citizenship and what it means to be a citizen of a free country".

Keith Porteous Wood, the executive director of the National Secular Society, and campaigns manager Stephen Evans met with Mr Lewis in January 2015 to discuss concerns about the existing relationship between religion and education.

Writing to the Minister for Education and Skills on the proposals, Mr Porteous Wood said the reforms were "very much in tune" with the NSS' thinking and said he expected the proposed reforms would be broadly supported by pupils and the wider RE community and other educationalists.

However, in its reporting of the proposals, the Daily Express effectively reproduced a story from the Breitbart news site alleging – without any foundation – that the proposals would somehow 'ban' Christianity. Some religious groups have also criticised the proposal with Rheinallt Thomas, former head of the national religious education centre, claiming there will be 'a campaign against it'.

Stephen Evans, National Secular Society campaigns manager, said: "There is a clear need to reform RE and we're pleased to see the Welsh Government taking the lead on this.

"We would very much welcome a new programme of study to replace RE that includes objective education about religious beliefs, but not to the detriment of other important philosophical and ethical perspectives.

"All young people should be entitled to a broad and balanced education so we hope that faith schools will also be required to teach the new curriculum rather than being free to teach religion from their own exclusive viewpoint, as is currently the case in some instances. We await further details of the proposed changes with interest."

The BBC reported that a new curriculum will not be in place for "seven to eight years."

Government to investigate Islamic school which banned socialising with ‘outsiders’

News | Thu, 20th Aug 2015

The DfE has written to the National Secular Society confirming that it will be "looking into" the NSS' concerns over why an Islamic school that banned its pupils from socialising with 'outsiders' was rated "good".

The Islamic Institute for Education in Dewsbury was found by Sky News to be banning students from socialising with "outsiders" and teaching pupils not to watch TV, read newspapers or listen to the radio.

Despite this the school was rated "good" by Ofsted in 2011. "The Islamic Institute of Education provides a good quality of education and meets its stated aims very well," its report said.

The National Secular Society wrote to the Department for Education and Ofsted calling for a new inspection as a matter of urgency, and asking whether the school met the previous standards at the time of the inspection.

In a letter sent to Schools Minister Nick Gibb at the end of July, the NSS wrote that while "the most recent inspection report from 2011 predates the 2014 revision of the regulations" and the new emphasis on "British values", the Society has "serious doubts as to whether the school met the standards in operation at the time of its previous inspection."

In response to our letter Lord Nash, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Schools, said that the Department would be "looking into this particular case to ensure compliance with the relevant regulatory standards."

The NSS is still waiting to hear back from Ofsted in response to our serious concerns that the Institute of Islamic Education was not up to the standard of the old inspection guidance, despite being rated as 'good'.

Stephen Evans, National Secular Society campaigns manager, said: "We're pleased to see the DfE are looking into this. It seems extraordinary that the school should have been rated 'good' and then deteriorated during the period of the Government stressing 'British values'. The alternative explanation is that the school was never up to standard, raising serious questions about the 2011 Ofsted inspection."

Lord Nash said that the "government places the utmost importance on tackling extremism and remains vigilant of extremism in schools."

"Independent schools were not assessed on their promotion of British values when the Institute of Islamic Education was last inspected. Inspection standards have since changed, however, and there is now a tougher inspection framework in place reflecting the new standards. This includes an emphasis on fundamental British values."

Mr Evans added, "Our concern is not only that the school is failing to meet the current standards, but that the school did not meet the standards in place at the time of the previous inspection."

BBC Trust: Religious radio programmes are “least popular” and “least well received” – but we won’t change them

News | Thu, 20th Aug 2015

A consultation on speech radio by the BBC Trust has found that religious programmes are the least liked and least well received radio shows, but stated that the BBC has no plans to change them.

The BBC Trust, the governing body of the BBC, has a "responsibility to get the best out of the BBC for licence fee payers" and conducts an "in-depth review of each of the BBC's services."

In research which included a public consultation on speech radio, (stations like Radio 4, Radio 4 Extra and Radio 5 live), the BBC Trust found that "programmes on religion … are the least popular offering from the station's programming in terms of claimed listening" with just 15% of Radio 4 listeners tuning in to religious programmes, compared with 91% who listen to "in-depth factual programmes".

In addition, programmes on religion are the "least well received" of all Radio 4 programmes, with "just under two thirds of Radio 4 listeners (63%) rating them as good."

Despite this finding, the report states that "Radio 4 is well aware of its listeners' range of views on this subject and has no plans for change to its output at present."

NSS campaigns manager Stephen Evans said "it is extraordinary that such a critical review could result in no action being taken. What was the purpose of conducting a public consultation and review, if the findings are to be ignored?"

The National Secular Society submitted a response to the consultation arguing that "the BBC devotes too many of its resources to the provision of exclusively religious programming, particularly when research has shown that very few people listen to it."

Mr Evans said that the central assertion of the NSS submission has now been "confirmed by the BBC Trust's own research."

The NSS also took the opportunity to raise our objections to the current model of Thought for the Day, and suggested that the programme be "reformed to incorporate nonreligious voices."

The BBC Trust sidestepped this issue by stating that Radio 4 "already brings contributors from different faiths to Thought for the Day", not addressing the suggestion about the programme featuring nonreligious contributors.

Additionally, the review said that "several respondents call for the secularisation" of Thought for The Day, "although a substantial number of listeners maintain that religion does have a place on the programme."

Mr Evans added, "To have a slot in the middle Radio 4's flagship news and current affairs programme, reserved only for religious speakers, to make sometimes very contentious points which go completely unchallenged, is unjustifiable. It demonstrates an unhealthy and anachronistic deference to religion unworthy of Britain's public-service broadcaster."

The NSS recently raised concerns that religious programmes are effectively 'off-limits' from criticism.

Mexico blasted by UN Child Rights watchdog over child abuse in Catholic institutions

News | Fri, 21st Aug 2015

The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has strongly criticised Mexico over "corroborated reports that hundreds of children have been sexually abused for years by clerics of the Catholic Church and other religious faiths".

The Committee is particularly concerned about "the general impunity which perpetrators have enjoyed so far" and "about the low number of investigations and prosecutions of the perpetrators as well as alleged complicity of state officials." It also notes the "lack of complaints mechanisms, services and compensation available to children".

Keith Porteous Wood, the National Secular Society's executive director, said that the Committee's recommendations to Mexico "could hardly have been more direct".

The Committee "strongly urges" Mexico to:

  • "Take immediate measures to investigate and prosecute all members of the Roman Catholic clergy and other religious faiths involved in or accomplices of sexual abuse and exploitation of children, and ensure that those found guilty be provided with sanctions commensurate with the gravity of their crime;
  • "Provide children victims of sexual abuse with all necessary services for their physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration, and adequately compensate them;
  • "Ensure that specific measures taken to prevent sexual abuse by clerics become part of all policies related to violence against children and that empowered children learn how to protect themselves from sexual abuse and are aware of the mechanism they can refer to in case of such abuses;
  • "Take concrete measures to raise awareness on this type of abuse in order to overcome social acceptance and taboo surrounding these crimes;
  • "Collect disaggregated data related to cases of sexual abuse against children involving the Roman Catholic clergy and provide detailed information in its next report on the convictions and sentences pronounced."

Mr Porteous Wood added: "The Committee should be commended for making these points so strongly, especially given that, as far as can be established from the Committee's website, no specific representations were made to it about this matter by civil society organisations in Mexico.

"We hope that representations made to the Committee about child rape and other violence under the aegis of the Catholic Church worldwide by international abuse victim/survivor organisations, and ourselves, have helped to raise a general awareness of these issues.

"More important, though, is that these latest recommendations are taken seriously and acted upon. The Catholic Church centrally has set a bad example. The Holy See was the subject of even more damning criticism in 2014 , which was reported widely, but the Vatican was dismissive of it.

"There is room for rather more optimism over Mexico following the Committee's recommendations than the Holy See doing so."

In response to the Committee, the Government of Mexico has recognised that there are "many challenges" to "the rights of children and adolescents in the country", and stated that the Government will work to "provide care in a coordinated way in addressing these recommendations".

The Committee's first task in the next review in five years' time will be to check the progress made.

Free speech campaigners demand to know why play on Islamic extremism was cancelled

News | Tue, 18th Aug 2015

Index on Censorship and English PEN have called for answers after 'Homegrown', a play about radicalisation, was cancelled by the National Youth Theatre shortly before its first performance.

The play was due to be staged by a cast of 112 young people aged between 15 and 25, and was to tackle issues around extremism and radicalisation, including why so many young British Muslims feel drawn to the Islamic State.

In a letter published in the Times on 14 August, leading writers, artists and actors joined free speech organisations in warning of a "culture of caution" that was shutting down debate and discussion.

There are also concerns, shared by the National Secular Society, about the exact series of events which led to the play's cancellation ten days before it was to be performed, and the signatories write of the troubling "reports that the NYT [National Youth Theatre] may have been put under external pressure to change the location and then cancel the production.

"Police, local authorities and arts organisations have a duty to respect and protect freedom of expression — even, and most especially, where they disagree with the message or find it controversial.

"We urge the NYT to give a full account of what led to the decision, and hope that a way can be found to stage it so that the young voices involved can be heard and the production can be judged on its merits."

Signatories include David Aaronovitch and Jodie Ginsberg of Index on Censorship, Maureen Freely, the president of English PEN, and Shami Chakrabarti, the director of Liberty.

Index on Censorship previously described the cancellation as "very worrying" and argued that "as a society we should be encouraging vehicles that shed light on the processes of radicalisation among young people. The way forward is to open up discussions about controversial subjects in contemporary Britain."

Stephen Evans, campaigns manager at the National Secular Society, commented: "It is concerning that the details of what exactly led to the play's cancellation are still unclear.

"Discussion about radicalisation and Islamic extremism should not be off-limits, and we hope that misplaced sensitivity over religion was not behind the cancellation.

"Reports about 'external pressure' placed on the organisers are very troubling and there needs to be a full account of what took place. Free speech must be defended, whether encroached on by the Government and police, or through inappropriate deference to religious feelings."

Meanwhile, a planned Mohammed Cartoon exhibit has been cancelled with organisers citing security concerns. In a statement on the ShariaWatch website, Anne Marie Waters said "the risk of running this exhibition is simply too high".

Petition calls for Bangladeshi police chief to resign after he warned secularists not to insult religion

News | Tue, 18th Aug 2015

A petition has been started calling for the head of Bangladesh's police to resign after he told secularists not to 'cross the line' by insulting religious feelings, days after Niloy Neel was killed.

A.K.M. Shahidul Hoque, the Inspector General of Police in Bangladesh, said that secularists and atheists would be "punished by the law" for "hurting someone's religious sentiment" two days after Niloy Neel, the secular blogger, was murdered by Islamists.

Hoque's remarks sparked uproar when he first made them, and now the Bangladesh Liberal Forum has started a petition calling on the national police chief to resign.

The Council of Ex-Muslims of Britain urged supporters to sign the petition, blasting Hoque's "abhorrent statement" that threatened anyone "who criticizes religion in the spirit of free speech" with 14 years in jail.

According to the petition "Mr. Hoque also encouraged people to notify police and file a case if they come across any writings that hurt religious feelings."

The Bangladesh Liberal Forum write that his response was "entirely inappropriate" victim-blaming, and that it sent a "disastrous message to both writers and Islamist extremists in Bangladesh."

They added: "The nonchalant attitude displayed by Bangladesh Police in the face of the continuing series of acts of violence against freethinkers directly contributes to the rise of religious extremism in Bangladesh."

Meanwhile police investigating the killings of secular bloggers in Bangladesh have announced that one of three people arrested for the murders of Avijit Roy, killed in February 2015, and Ananta Bijoy Das, "hacked to death" in May 2015, include a UK citizen.

Touhidur Rahman, a British-Bangladeshi, reportedly planned the murders. He has been described as the "mastermind" behind the brutal killings, and also a financier of a banned Islamist organisation.

Maajid Nawaz of counter-extremism think tank Quilliam, also an honorary associate of the National Secular Society, said it was "totally unsurprising" that a British Muslim was "suspected to be behind machete murders of secular free thinkers in Bangladesh."

Mr Nawaz recently warned that "theocratic aspirations" have become a "normalised part of life among too many British Muslims."

The National Secular Society has reiterated its call for the UK Government to recognise global discrimination against atheists, humanists and secularists.

See also: "You can never kill ideas: an anonymous blogger on the deaths of secularists in Bangladesh."