I have stayed well out of the media-driven ‘Operation Trojan Horse’ ‘debate’ being conducted about education in Birmingham. The only exception has been to write an article for the next issue of Race Equality Teaching, which I did upon receiving an invitation from the journal’s editors. Even then I make only a passing reference to the goings-on, based on the saying: ‘keep quiet until you have something useful to say’.
I have extensively researched this area of education, given my doctoral research into education of Pakistani boys in Birmingham. Amongst the many hundreds (probably thousands by now) of documents I have consulted, have been reports and papers produced by Muslim education experts.
Reading the front-page of the Daily Telegraph, I was perplexed to read a reference to a ‘blueprint’ which had been produced by Mr Tahir Alam in 2007. Thinking that my research had not gone far or deep enough, I investigated. I needn’t have worried.
The document in question was: ‘Towards Greater Understanding- Meeting the needs of Muslim pupils in state schools’. It was published by the Muslim Council of Britain.
The document was launched in front of many respected education policy makers and practitioners. Alongside Tahir Alam, amongst the attendees was Professor Sir Tim Brighouse. Just so that we are clear about this “Blueprint for Islamisation of state schools“, this is what he had said when commending the guidance to educationalists:
“I would ask anybody to read this document and to say, well which is the bit of this document that you don’t agree with? I started by saying that I am not a person of faith, a religious faith. I have read that document and agree with almost all of it, there is nothing in it to which I would not assent. It is something that I think all educators should take seriously… I think it is a superb document and I thank you for it… Every school in the country needs to have this and I appeal to the Teachers’ Unions in this country to give their full backing to this document. They will ensure that their teachers have a better opportunity of unlocking the talent of everybody in this country, if they take it seriously.”
It is worth pointing out here that at the time of its publication, the document was the subject of fair amount of mis-reporting, which was ably summarised by Robin Richardson, in the very same Race Equality Teaching.
Acknowledging that “faith is extraordinarily important in many people’s lives” Professor Brighouse had said at the launch:
“I could tell you 500 schools in Birmingham would welcome this document and that’s in Birmingham alone. And I can tell you another 3,000 schools in London would welcome this document. I read it cover to cover. I think its fantastic document.”
He went on:
“We need document such as this from all faith positions and I hope people from different faiths would read this document and make sure that the schooling system has references this point. i.e. that they can use in their schools.”
The National Association of Head Teachers discussed the above document at its meeting of the Race and Cultural Diversity Committee on 15 March 2007, as follows:
“The Chair reported on the Launch of “Towards Greater Understanding: meeting the needs of Muslim Pupils in State Schools” and reflected on the expressions of support from Tim Brighouse that this reference document provided a challenge to all faiths to provide helpful support for schools. It was noted that there had been a lot of press coverage, with some misrepresentation; a communication had subsequently been received at headquarters. A long and energetic discussion followed.”
To provide some background, Birmingham was one of the first education authorities to agree a syllabus, in 1975, on multi-faith Religious Education. It continued to be a pioneer when it published, in 1988, ‘Guidelines on Meeting the Religious and Cultural Needs of Muslim Pupils’.
In his role as the Chief Education Officer of Birmingham, Tim Brighouse (as he was then) had said the following in introducing the guidelines:
“I am delighted to know that the Muslim Liaison Committee (MLC) in Birmingham has produced this revised booklet ‘Guidelines on Meeting the Religious and Cultural Needs of Muslim Pupils’ which they intend to circulate to schools. I believe it will certainly be useful both for general information and help while planning programmes of study.
It was good to see that the revised booklet includes many more suggestions and recommendations. These should help to enhance the status of Muslim pupils through clear and better understanding of their social values both in teaching and learning. It may well help to raise their profile in schools within the realm of Education Reform Acts 1988 and 1991.
I would recommend schools to consider these guidelines for meeting the needs of their Muslim pupils and make good use of them.”
Meanwhile, the ‘debate’ surrounding Trojan Horse continues, with now four investigations on the way.