Over the last few months, we have received a number of cases involving schools and where Muslim young people have been interviewed on the back of alleged comments that they have made within the school environment.

A growing number of parents have reported into us that their children have been questioned on the back of Prevent related interventions. In one interview with a young Muslim student, he was asked whether ‘he owned a gun’. In another, he was questioned as ‘to which mosque he went to and whether he prayed a lot.’ In both of these cases, the parents have been so outraged that they have sought to meet with senior officers in the relevant Departments for Education and strongly believe that their children have been treated in this way because they are Muslim.

Listening to the parents of these children, it is hard not to come to the conclusion that some schools are over-reacting to scenarios involving Muslim children and the impacts on the children and the families are clear to see. Yet, these are not isolated cases and the cases that we have received have come from across the country.

We are also clear that many schools manage safeguarding issues in a manner which does not impact on young people and on families. We also understand that many schools do this on the basis of the protection of young people and throughout the process students do not feel that a specific part of their identity is the trigger for the school to take some form of action. Saying that, other schools seem to have no understanding of safeguarding and manage to alienate the parents of children who happen to be Muslim. They also leave a lasting impression on the minds of young Muslims who believe that they have been targeted because of their faith. This is the worst outcome that anyone wants to see.

We will be monitoring these situations across the country and we believe that the safeguarding of young people and communities is of importance to us all so that the learning outcomes for young people can be the most fruitful for them. Yet, over-reactions to students who are Muslim and who receive a different standard of treatment because of Prevent is unacceptable. Of that, we are clear.

The post Over-Reactions on Prevent Are Causing Fears Within Muslim Students appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Over the last few months, we have received a number of cases involving schools and where Muslim young people have been interviewed on the back of alleged comments that they have made within the school environment.

A growing number of parents have reported into us that their children have been questioned on the back of Prevent related interventions. In one interview with a young Muslim student, he was asked whether ‘he owned a gun’. In another, he was questioned as ‘to which mosque he went to and whether he prayed a lot.’ In both of these cases, the parents have been so outraged that they have sought to meet with senior officers in the relevant Departments for Education and strongly believe that their children have been treated in this way because they are Muslim.

Listening to the parents of these children, it is hard not to come to the conclusion that some schools are over-reacting to scenarios involving Muslim children and the impacts on the children and the families are clear to see. Yet, these are not isolated cases and the cases that we have received have come from across the country.

We are also clear that many schools manage safeguarding issues in a manner which does not impact on young people and on families. We also understand that many schools do this on the basis of the protection of young people and thoughout the process students do not feel that a specific part of their identity is the trigger for the school to take some form of action. Saying that, other schools seem to have no understanding of safeguarding and manage to alienate the parents of children who happen to be Muslim. They also leave a lasting impression on the minds of young Muslims who believe that they have been targeted because of their faith. This is the worst outcome that anyone wants to see.

We will be monitoring these situations across the country and we believe that the safeguarding of young people and communties is of importance to us all so that the learning outcomes for young people can be the most fruitful for them. Yet, over-reactions to students who are Muslim and who receive a different standard of treatment because of Prevent is unacceptable. Of that, we are clear.

The post Over-Reactions on Prevent Are Causing Fears Within Muslim Students appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Over the last few months, we have received a number of cases involving schools and where Muslim young people have been interviewed on the back of alleged comments that they have made within the school environment.

A growing number of parents have reported into us that their children have been questioned on the back of Prevent related interventions. In one interview with a young Muslim student, he was asked whether ‘he owned a gun’. In another, he was questioned as ‘to which mosque he went to and whether he prayed a lot.’ In both of these cases, the parents have been so outraged that they have sought to meet with senior officers in the relevant Departments for Education and strongly believe that their children have been treated in this way because they are Muslim.

Listening to the parents of these children, it is hard not to come to the conclusion that some schools are over-reacting to scenarios involving Muslim children and the impacts on the children and the families are clear to see. Yet, these are not isolated cases and the cases that we have received have come from across the country.

We are also clear that many schools manage safeguarding issues in a manner which does not impact on young people and on families. We also understand that many schools do this on the basis of the protection of young people and thoughout the process students do not feel that a specific part of their identity is the trigger for the school to take some form of action. Saying that, other schools seem to have no understanding of safeguarding and manage to alienate the parents of children who happen to be Muslim. They also leave a lasting impression on the minds of young Muslims who believe that they have been targeted because of their faith. This is the worst outcome that anyone wants to see.

We will be monitoring these situations across the country and we believe that the safeguarding of young people and communties is of importance to us all so that the learning outcomes for young people can be the most fruitful for them. Yet, over-reactions to students who are Muslim and who receive a different standard of treatment because of Prevent is unacceptable. Of that, we are clear.

The post Over-Reactions on Prevent Are Causing Fears Within Muslim Students appeared first on TELL MAMA.

Over the last few months, we have received a number of cases involving schools and where Muslim young people have been interviewed on the back of alleged comments that they have made within the school environment.

A growing number of parents have reported into us that their children have been questioned on the back of Prevent related interventions. In one interview with a young Muslim student, he was asked whether ‘he owned a gun’. In another, he was questioned as ‘to which mosque he went to and whether he prayed a lot.’ In both of these cases, the parents have been so outraged that they have sought to meet with senior officers in the relevant Departments for Education and strongly believe that their children have been treated in this way because they are Muslim.

Listening to the parents of these children, it is hard not to come to the conclusion that some schools are over-reacting to scenarios involving Muslim children and the impacts on the children and the families are clear to see. Yet, these are not isolated cases and the cases that we have received have come from across the country.

We are also clear that many schools manage safeguarding issues in a manner which does not impact on young people and on families. We also understand that many schools do this on the basis of the protection of young people and thoughout the process students do not feel that a specific part of their identity is the trigger for the school to take some form of action. Saying that, other schools seem to have no understanding of safeguarding and manage to alienate the parents of children who happen to be Muslim. They also leave a lasting impression on the minds of young Muslims who believe that they have been targeted because of their faith. This is the worst outcome that anyone wants to see.

We will be monitoring these situations across the country and we believe that the safeguarding of young people and communties is of importance to us all so that the learning outcomes for young people can be the most fruitful for them. Yet, over-reactions to students who are Muslim and who receive a different standard of treatment because of Prevent is unacceptable. Of that, we are clear.

The post Over-Reactions on Prevent Are Causing Fears Within Muslim Students appeared first on TELL MAMA.

There are those on Twitter who think that they are fighting the good fight against racism and who shout Islamophobia at the slightest drop of a hat, thereby devaluing the word. The moral guardians of the Internet, these individuals are mainly aged between 20-35 and who spend their time on Twitter railing against prejudice and Islamophobia and then turning against those whom they perceive as ‘House Muslims.’ So, let us get to the bottom of this.

We have noticed that those who have divergent views from what some may perceive as being views which ‘Muslims should have’, are smeared and labelled on social media as ‘House Muslims.’ The allegation made is that if someone takes a contrary view on extremism, or Prevent, or against groups excluding others because they are deemed to be ‘the wrong kind of Muslim’, they are therefore ‘House Muslims.’ They are, in the eyes of the perpetrator, equivalent to the House Slaves who kept the machinery of oppression through slavery going. They are also equivalent to the ‘House N……’ who ensured that the South’s policy of slavery continued on longer since they had sold their labour just to receive some basic privileges. This is what people who shout ‘House Muslim’, are saying.

Why are these statements problematic? They are problematic since those making them leave themselves open to the charge that they have no moral mandate in countering intolerance and prejudice, when they themselves are promoting a form of bigotry. They have no mandate since tackling racism and prejudice, speaks to power. These individuals do not speak to power, they simply re-enforce a mob-like mentality that bays, taunts and attempts to humiliate the individual, thereby re-enforcing power structures. This statement is also problematic, since it shows the hypocrisy in some who claim to be part of the anti-racist movement and who are nothing but charlatans and snake-skin salespeople playing to a mob mentality. Underneath the facade, they have slightly more in common with the plantation owner who sought to keep his slaves subjugated and controlled; boxed off and easy to understand. Well, we will have no part of it.

Anyone who uses the term ‘House Muslim’ should be regarded as being akin in his/her views to those who promote the false narrative that Muslims cannot be trusted and that they are secret Sharia or taqiyya peddlers. Both narratives are toxic and we simply should reject both with all of our energies.

(More on this subject will be disseminated in the coming days)

The post ‘House Muslims’ is just as bad as ‘House N……’. appeared first on TELL MAMA.

A few days ago an HTML mailshot from the extremist group Britain First was posted to individuals on their database. The mailshot was another way of trying to raise funds for this extremist group through the merchandising of their material.

The material itself was emblazoned with a crown on the sweatshirts and t-shirts which raises an important question when the insignia is placed next to our flag – the flag of the United Kingdom. The misuse of the Crown is an insult to what this country stands for, which is about pluralism and about all communities being part of our national identity, which we should be proud of. This needs addressing since the ‘Crown’ and all it stands for belong to us as citizens and is not to be hijacked by an extremist far right group.

Furthermore of concern is the fact that Mastercard and Visa are providing services to this extremist and far right anti-Muslim group. Any transaction processing company should not be engaging with this group, nor should it be associating its brand with this group.

Recently, we had extensive news coverage on the closing of bank accounts involving a number of organisations who served or engaged with Muslim communities. The reasons that are coming out regarding HSBC’s decision, are allegedly based on the ‘level of risk’ of such groups and we are aware that the groups involved have stringently denied any involvement in extremism and there are challenges underway to HSBC’s decision. Yet, a legitimate question can be asked as to how banking and transaction facilities are being provided to a known extremist and far right group which some call a ‘political party’ – Britain First.

We call on Mastercard and Visa to remove their services and any association with Britain First. Nationally, we have a Prevent strategy which focuses on tackling on extremism. It talks about reducing the capacity of extremist groups to function and in tackling their resource base as one way of tackling the dissemination of their ideology. Surely, this is one example of where Prevent can be implemented to show the wider public that extremism in all of its guises will be tackled.

Either way, we hope that as members of the public, you can write to the Press Office of Mastercard (UK) and Visa (UK) and make clear your displeasure as to why they are providing services to this extremist group. You can contact the following individuals by e-mail:

Mastercard

Kedesh Mather: Kedesh_Mather@mastercard.com
James Thorpe: James_Thorpe@mastercard.com

Visa

enquiries.europe@visa.com

The post Mastercard and Visa Should Not Provide Services to Extremist Far Right Groups appeared first on TELL MAMA.

We have been asked by members of Muslim communities about Prevent and whether people can report in cases where they think that there has been anti-Muslim prejudice in Prevent related work.

We have received some cases where people have reported in Prevent related issues to us, where they felt that their child has been targeted because of their Muslim faith. We have acted for these individuals in ascertaining what took place and we have actively advocated for individuals, ensuring that their voice is heard and that their feelings, comments and statements are taken into account.

However, we are also aware that many Prevent officers and practitioners work diligently and sensitively in engaging with families and individuals to ensure the safety of communities.

We feel that it is necessary to highlight this, not because we have an ideological position about Prevent in TELL MAMA, but because the whole ethos of the project is to provide a service to victims of anti-Muslim hate. This means that our primary function is to support the victim and to assist where possible in documenting any anti-Muslim hate, whilst providing casework services and emotional support to individuals.

Additionally, there have been some cases where there has been no evidence of anti-Muslim hate when we have worked with individuals who have reported in Prevent related issues, whilst in other cases, comments and statements made to individuals have pointed to ignorance about Muslims and in an extremely small number of cases, our work has unearthed anti-Muslim statements with Prevent being associated within discussions.

We hope that this provides some clarification and we would treat such cases and issues as we do any case, with due diligence and a desire to advocate for and work with individuals, based on an evidential basis.

The post Prevent: Our Responsibility to the Public appeared first on TELL MAMA.

The English Defence League: Challenging Our Country and Our Values of Social Inclusion, Fairness and Equality. A detailed report on key leaders within the English Defence League, their funders and those that formulate its strategy. This report is a damning insight into a group that promotes a non-racist image, yet those aligned and linked to it hold views that are openly discriminatory against all Muslims and some speak the same language of the British National Party – the language of exclusionism, of non-equal human rights and of the need to ‘send people back.’ These values go contrary to what our country stands for and what we as a nation are about. We are about Fairness, Freedom, Hard Work, Equality and Social Inclusion. We are a modern Britain and a modern nation born from hard work and fairness!

Please Note:
We would like to clarify that Mark Israel, described in paragraph 4.9. of our report on the English Defence League as “a former volunteer with the Board of Deputies’ Community Security Trust (CST)”, has not been a CST volunteer for many years; and that CST (a separate organisation from the Board of Deputies) has repeatedly condemned the EDL, for example in the following posts on the CST Blog:

• https://thecst.org.uk/blog/?p=555
• https://thecst.org.uk/blog/?p=686
• https://thecst.org.uk/blog/?p=963
• https://thecst.org.uk/blog/?p=1602
• https://thecst.org.uk/blog/?p=1956