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Not sure how or why I received this (the recipients are undisclosed),
but it's a fascinating text - lots of interesting themes woven in.<br>
<br>
(Purely academic interest by the way, I have no opinion on the matters
at hand.)<br>
<br>
Dave<br>
<br>
--<br>
Dr. Dave Sayers<br>
Honorary Research Fellow<br>
School of the Environment and Society<br>
Swansea University<br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:d.sayers@swansea.ac.uk">d.sayers@swansea.ac.uk</a><br>
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://swansea.academia.edu/DaveSayers">http://swansea.academia.edu/DaveSayers</a><br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
-------- Original Message --------
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<th valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap">Subject: </th>
<td>Free Our Schools</td>
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<th valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap">Date: </th>
<td>Wed, 2 Jun 2010 22:09:01 +0100</td>
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<th valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap">From: </th>
<td>Iftikhar ahmad
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:london_school_of_islamics@btinternet.com"><london_school_of_islamics@btinternet.com></a></td>
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<th valign="BASELINE" align="RIGHT" nowrap="nowrap">To: </th>
<td>d.rich <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:d.rich@liberaljudaism.org"><d.rich@liberaljudaism.org></a></td>
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<p class="MsoTitle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;"
align="left"><u><span style="font-size: 6pt; text-decoration: none;"
lang="EN-GB">Established 1981</span><span
style="font-size: 12pt; text-decoration: none;" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoTitle" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: left;"
align="left"><u><span style="font-size: 36pt;" lang="EN-GB">London
School of Islamics<span style=""> </span></span><span
style="font-size: 12pt;" lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></u></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"
align="center"><span style="font-size: 7pt;">An Educational Trust<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"
align="center"><st1:address w:st="on"><st1:street w:st="on"><span
style="font-size: 7pt;">63 Margery Park Road</span></st1:street><span
style="font-size: 7pt;"> <st1:city w:st="on">London</st1:city> <st1:postalcode
w:st="on">E7 9LD</st1:postalcode></span></st1:address><span
style="font-size: 7pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<h1 style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;" align="center"><font
face="Arial" size="3">Email: </font><a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="mailto:info@londonschoolofislamics.org.uk"><font face="Arial"
size="3">info@londonschoolofislamics.org.uk</font></a></h1>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"
align="center"><strong><font size="2"><a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="http://www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk">www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk</a><o:p></o:p></font></strong></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"
align="center"><font size="2">Tel/Fax: 0208 555 2733 / 07817 112 667</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt; text-align: center;"
align="center"><span style="font-size: 18pt;">Free Our Schools<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><font size="2"><span
style="color: black; font-family: Arial;" lang="EN-GB">Almost all
children now believe they go to school to pass exams. The idea that
they may be there for an education is irrelevant. State schools have
become exam factories, interested only in A to C Grades. They do not
educate children.<span style=""> </span>Exam results do not reflect a
candidate’s innate ability. Employers have moaned for years that too
many employees cannot read or write properly. According to a survey,
school-leavers and even graduates lack basic literacy and numeracy
skills. More and more companies are having to provide remedial training
to new staff, who can’t write clear instructions, do simple maths, or
solve problems. Both graduates and school-leavers were also criticised
for their sloppy time-keeping, ignorance of basic customer service and
lack of self-discipline. <span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span></span><span
style="color: black;"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span
style="color: black;"><font size="2"> <o:p></o:p></font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><font size="2"><span
style="color: black;" lang="EN-GB">Bilingual Muslims children have a
right, as much as any other faith group, to be taught their culture,
languages and faith alongside a mainstream curriculum. More faith
schools will be opened under sweeping reforms of the education system
in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">England</st1:place></st1:country-region>.
There is a dire need for the growth of state funded Muslim schools to
meet the growing needs and demands of the Muslim parents and children. </span><span
style="color: black;" lang="EN-GB"><span style=""> </span></span><span
style="color: black; font-family: Arial;" lang="EN-GB">Now the time
has come that parents and community should take over the running of
their local schools. Parent-run schools will give the diversity, the
choice and the competition that the wealthy have in the private sector.
Parents can perform a better job than the Local Authority because
parents have a genuine vested interest. The Local Authority simply
cannot be trusted. <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span
style="color: black; font-family: Arial;" lang="EN-GB"><o:p><font
size="2"> </font></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><font size="2">The
British Government is planning to make it easier to schools to “opt
out” from the Local Authorities. Muslim children in state schools feel
isolated and confused about who they are. This can cause
dissatisfaction and lead them into criminality, and the lack of a true
understanding of Islam can ultimately make them more susceptible to the
teachings of fundamentalists like Christians during the middle ages and
Jews in recent times in <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Palestine</st1:place></st1:city>.
Fundamentalism is nothing to do with Islam and Muslim; you are either a
Muslim or a non-Muslim. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><font size="2"><span
style=""> </span>There are hundreds of state primary and secondary
schools where Muslim pupils are in majority. In my opinion all such
schools may be opted out to become Muslim Academies. This mean the
Muslim children will get a decent education. Muslim schools turned out
balanced citizens, more tolerant of others and less likely to succumb
to criminality or extremism. Muslim schools give young people
confidence in who they are and an understanding of Islam’s teaching of
tolerance and respect which prepares them for a positive and fulfilling
role in society. <span style="color: black;">Muslim schools are
attractive to Muslim parents because they have better discipline and
teaching Islamic values. Children like discipline, structure and
boundaries. <span style=""> </span>Bilingual Muslim children need
Bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental
periods, who understand their needs and demands.</span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><font size="2">None
of the British Muslims convicted following the riots in Bradford and
Oldham in 2001 or any of those linked to the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">London</st1:place></st1:city> bombings had been to Islamic
schools. An American Think Tank studied the educational back ground of
300 Jihadists; none of them were educated in Pakistani Madrasas. They
were all Western educated by non-Muslim teachers. Bilingual Muslim
children need bilingual Muslim teachers as role models. <span style=""> </span>A
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Cambridge</st1:placename>
<st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype></st1:place> study
found that single-sex classes could make a big difference for boys.
They perform better in single-sex classes. The research is promising
because male students in the study saw noticeable gains in the grades.
The study confirms the Islamic notion that academic achievement is
better in single-sex classes.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><font size="2">Iftikhar
Ahmad </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span
style="color: black;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style=""
lang="EN-GB"><br style="">
<br style="">
</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><o:p><font size="2"> </font></o:p></p>
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