Kids told to write 'Allah is God'
Once-Great Britain continues its downward spiral
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By ALASTAIR TAYLOR
By ALASTAIR TAYLOR
August 06, 2007
ANGRY parents have blasted a teacher for telling ten-year-olds to copy a Muslim prayer saying “There is no God but Allah”.
Helen Green is said to have picked the Muslim call to prayer as HAND-WRITING practice.
It includes the lines “Allah is the greatest” and “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah”.
Pupil Billy Darbyshire’s stepmum Hayley Clayton said: “The explanation was that the children were learning about Islam in RE.
“But this was like he was taking an oath. A Muslim child would never be asked to write a Bible passage.
“Why didn’t she choose a passage from a normal story book to teach handwriting?”
Hayley, 23, said Mrs Green — deputy head of Newlands Primary School in Wakefield, West Yorks — had acknowledged it was a “sensitive issue” because three of the 7/7 suicide bombers came from Leeds, 15 miles away.
She added: “If it’s sensitive why choose that prayer?”
Billy’s angry dad Martin, 32, said there were no Muslims in the ten-year-old’s class. He added: “I am not religious but it offended me.
“It must have been worse for children whose parents do have different beliefs.”
Wakefield Council officials said they believed the prayer had been written for RE.
ANGRY parents have blasted a teacher for telling ten-year-olds to copy a Muslim prayer saying “There is no God but Allah”.
Helen Green is said to have picked the Muslim call to prayer as HAND-WRITING practice.
It includes the lines “Allah is the greatest” and “I bear witness that there is no God but Allah”.
Pupil Billy Darbyshire’s stepmum Hayley Clayton said: “The explanation was that the children were learning about Islam in RE.
“But this was like he was taking an oath. A Muslim child would never be asked to write a Bible passage.
“Why didn’t she choose a passage from a normal story book to teach handwriting?”
Hayley, 23, said Mrs Green — deputy head of Newlands Primary School in Wakefield, West Yorks — had acknowledged it was a “sensitive issue” because three of the 7/7 suicide bombers came from Leeds, 15 miles away.
She added: “If it’s sensitive why choose that prayer?”
Billy’s angry dad Martin, 32, said there were no Muslims in the ten-year-old’s class. He added: “I am not religious but it offended me.
“It must have been worse for children whose parents do have different beliefs.”
Wakefield Council officials said they believed the prayer had been written for RE.
posted by jillosophy at 8/06/2007 11:24:00 AM
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