D
Dr. Jai Maharaj
Guest
Teacher accuses Islamic school of racism
By Alexandra Frean, Education Editor
THE TIMES, UK
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
A former teacher at an Islamic school, who alleged that it
taught an offensive and racist view of non-Muslims, has
been awarded UKP 70,000 by an employment tribunal after
winning his case for unfair dismissal.
Colin Cook told the tribunal in Watford that pupils were
taught from Arabic books that likened Jews and Christians
to "monkeys" and "pigs" at The King Fahad Academy, which is
funded and run by the Saudi Arabian Government.
The tribunal ruled that Mr Cook, a British Muslim, was
unfairly dismissed from his UKP 36,000-a-year post at the
school in Acton, West London, in December 2006 after
blowing the whistle on systematic cheating at a GCSE exam.
The panel found that the school created a "smokescreen" to
try to justify his dismissal after 18 years' unblemished
service.
It awarded Mr Cook UKP 58,800 in compensation for loss of
earnings and UKP 10,500 for injury to feelings. But it
rejected his claim that the school discriminated against
him on racial grounds.
Mr Cook told the hearing that after leaving the school
another member of staff gave him extracts from an Arabic
textbook, which encouraged students to believe that all
religions other than Islam were worthless.
The books referred to "the repugnant characteristics of the
Jews". Another passage said: "Those whom God has cursed and
with whom he is angry, he has turned into monkeys and pigs.
They worship Satan."
Mr Cook alleged that the books were spreading race hatred.
"They should not be brought into this country and they
should not be used in this country," he said.
The school denied ever teaching any form of racial hatred
and insisted that the offending passages in the books were
"misinterpreted" and were never used in class. But it later
got rid of the books.
The school was established in 1985, with the aim of
providing a high-quality education acceptable to the Saudi
and British authorities for the children of Saudi diplomats
and other Muslim families in London.
Some of the children of the jailed extremist clerics Abu
Hamza al-Masri and Abu Qatada are pupils at the school,
which charges fees of up to UKP 1,500 per year for day
students.
Mr Cook alleged that in June 2006 staff wrongly allowed
pupils to refer to heavily annotated course books during an
English language GCSE exam.
The tribunal was told that when he suggested that the
school might be trying to cover up his allegations, a
senior colleague told him: "This is not England. It is
Saudi Arabia."
Mr Cook then took his complaints direct to the Edexcel exam
board.
Mr Cook of Feltham, West London, taught English as a second
language at the school. Giving evidence to the tribunal, he
said that some pupils "talked as if they did not live in
London at all".
When he queried how Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada could be
paying school fees when they were said to be on benefits,
he was told to mind his own business.
He also claimed the school was seen as an extension of the
Saudi Embassy rather than part of Britain, with Saudi
teachers even enjoying diplomatic immunity.
Mr Cook's solicitor, Lawrence Davies, said: "Safeguards
under English law were thrown out of the window when Mr
Cook was sacked.
"This school must learn that it is not the Saudi way or the
highway. The tribunal has upheld justice and protected the
whistle-blower."
The tribunal panel was not required to rule on Mr Cook's
allegations about the school's curriculum. But in its
judgment, it said it had considered Mr Cook to be a
"truthful witness".
As he was a respected teacher, with an 18-year unblemished
record, it ruled that the impact of his dismissal had been
"nothing short of life-changing" for Mr Cook. He had
received a "harsh punishment for doing what he thought was
the right thing to do", it concluded.
Mr Cook said last night: "I have been accused by people at
the school and outside the school of lies and distortion.
The school inferred that I had endangered pupils with my
allegations.
"The evidence speaks otherwise. I told the truth all along.
Islam teaches peace and honesty. Hopefully, my accusers
will now realise that I acted justly and for the good of
the school."
No one at the school was available to comment.
More at:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article3746920.ece
Jai Maharaj
http://tinyurl.com/24fq83
http://www.mantra.com/jai
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
DISCLAIMER AND CONDITIONS
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.
By Alexandra Frean, Education Editor
THE TIMES, UK
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
A former teacher at an Islamic school, who alleged that it
taught an offensive and racist view of non-Muslims, has
been awarded UKP 70,000 by an employment tribunal after
winning his case for unfair dismissal.
Colin Cook told the tribunal in Watford that pupils were
taught from Arabic books that likened Jews and Christians
to "monkeys" and "pigs" at The King Fahad Academy, which is
funded and run by the Saudi Arabian Government.
The tribunal ruled that Mr Cook, a British Muslim, was
unfairly dismissed from his UKP 36,000-a-year post at the
school in Acton, West London, in December 2006 after
blowing the whistle on systematic cheating at a GCSE exam.
The panel found that the school created a "smokescreen" to
try to justify his dismissal after 18 years' unblemished
service.
It awarded Mr Cook UKP 58,800 in compensation for loss of
earnings and UKP 10,500 for injury to feelings. But it
rejected his claim that the school discriminated against
him on racial grounds.
Mr Cook told the hearing that after leaving the school
another member of staff gave him extracts from an Arabic
textbook, which encouraged students to believe that all
religions other than Islam were worthless.
The books referred to "the repugnant characteristics of the
Jews". Another passage said: "Those whom God has cursed and
with whom he is angry, he has turned into monkeys and pigs.
They worship Satan."
Mr Cook alleged that the books were spreading race hatred.
"They should not be brought into this country and they
should not be used in this country," he said.
The school denied ever teaching any form of racial hatred
and insisted that the offending passages in the books were
"misinterpreted" and were never used in class. But it later
got rid of the books.
The school was established in 1985, with the aim of
providing a high-quality education acceptable to the Saudi
and British authorities for the children of Saudi diplomats
and other Muslim families in London.
Some of the children of the jailed extremist clerics Abu
Hamza al-Masri and Abu Qatada are pupils at the school,
which charges fees of up to UKP 1,500 per year for day
students.
Mr Cook alleged that in June 2006 staff wrongly allowed
pupils to refer to heavily annotated course books during an
English language GCSE exam.
The tribunal was told that when he suggested that the
school might be trying to cover up his allegations, a
senior colleague told him: "This is not England. It is
Saudi Arabia."
Mr Cook then took his complaints direct to the Edexcel exam
board.
Mr Cook of Feltham, West London, taught English as a second
language at the school. Giving evidence to the tribunal, he
said that some pupils "talked as if they did not live in
London at all".
When he queried how Abu Hamza and Abu Qatada could be
paying school fees when they were said to be on benefits,
he was told to mind his own business.
He also claimed the school was seen as an extension of the
Saudi Embassy rather than part of Britain, with Saudi
teachers even enjoying diplomatic immunity.
Mr Cook's solicitor, Lawrence Davies, said: "Safeguards
under English law were thrown out of the window when Mr
Cook was sacked.
"This school must learn that it is not the Saudi way or the
highway. The tribunal has upheld justice and protected the
whistle-blower."
The tribunal panel was not required to rule on Mr Cook's
allegations about the school's curriculum. But in its
judgment, it said it had considered Mr Cook to be a
"truthful witness".
As he was a respected teacher, with an 18-year unblemished
record, it ruled that the impact of his dismissal had been
"nothing short of life-changing" for Mr Cook. He had
received a "harsh punishment for doing what he thought was
the right thing to do", it concluded.
Mr Cook said last night: "I have been accused by people at
the school and outside the school of lies and distortion.
The school inferred that I had endangered pupils with my
allegations.
"The evidence speaks otherwise. I told the truth all along.
Islam teaches peace and honesty. Hopefully, my accusers
will now realise that I acted justly and for the good of
the school."
No one at the school was available to comment.
More at:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/education/article3746920.ece
Jai Maharaj
http://tinyurl.com/24fq83
http://www.mantra.com/jai
http://www.mantra.com/jyotish
Om Shanti
Hindu Holocaust Museum
http://www.mantra.com/holocaust
Hindu life, principles, spirituality and philosophy
http://www.hindu.org
http://www.hindunet.org
The truth about Islam and Muslims
http://www.flex.com/~jai/satyamevajayate
DISCLAIMER AND CONDITIONS
o Not for commercial use. Solely to be fairly used for the educational
purposes of research and open discussion. The contents of this post may not
have been authored by, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of the
poster. The contents are protected by copyright law and the exemption for
fair use of copyrighted works.
o If you send private e-mail to me, it will likely not be read,
considered or answered if it does not contain your full legal name, current
e-mail and postal addresses, and live-voice telephone number.
o Posted for information and discussion. Views expressed by others are
not necessarily those of the poster who may or may not have read the article.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This article may contain copyrighted material the use of
which may or may not have been specifically authorized by the copyright
owner. This material is being made available in efforts to advance the
understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic,
democratic, scientific, social, and cultural, etc., issues. It is believed
that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title
17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without
profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included
information for research, comment, discussion and educational purposes by
subscribing to USENET newsgroups or visiting web sites. For more information
go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
If you wish to use copyrighted material from this article for purposes of
your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the
copyright owner.