COMMUNITIES Secretary Ruth Kelly says Islamic schools which promote "isolationism" and extremism should be closed down.
The Bolton West MP said the government had to "stamp out" Muslim schools which sought to change British society to fit Islamic principles.
She said: "They should be shut down.
"Different institutions are open to abuse and where we find abuse, we have got to stamp it out and prevent that happening".
But Ms Kelly insisted that Muslims were entitled to the same rights as other religious groups, such as Anglicans, Catholics, Hindus, Jews and Sikhs, to run faith schools.
Her remarks followed last week's launch of the government's Commission on Integration and Cohesion, when she called for a "new and honest" debate on diversity.
But Ms Kelly's intervention was not welcomed by Cheetham Hill-based Lib Dem activist Qaasim Afzal, chairman of the Muslim Educational Council.
He said: "Ruth Kelly has not got her finger on the pulse.
"She is using the issue to deflect attention from foreign policy issues which people from all communities have problems with.
"Muslim faith schools follow a strict curriculum and are strongly vetted.
Concerns
"I'm not aware of a single school that comes under description `isolationist' or `extremist'.
"Children know fellow Muslims around the world are being bombed by Western forces and there may be `underground' groups where people take advantage of their concerns.
"But these could not be described as schools and I'm certainly not aware of any of these in the Manchester area.
"The Muslim Education Council works closely with local authorities to make sure faith schools are up to scratch and teaching is well integrated.
"Children learn Key Stages 1 to 4 in a friendly, academic environment.
"Muslim parents send their children to these schools simply so their children can enjoy all the privileges that those in Jewish or Catholic schools do."
There are five Islamic faith schools in the city of Manchester, plus two in Bolton and one in Bury.
Ian Fenn, headteacher of Burnage High School, converted to Islam 15 years ago.
He used to be in charge of KD Grammar School, a boys' Islamic faith school in Whalley Range.
He said: "I'm confused by Ruth Kelly's remarks.
"My experience is that Islamic faith schools are not `isolationist' at all and I can't imagine the type of place she describes.
"Muslim faith schools of course put a much greater emphasis on an Islamic curriculum, but they are inspected by Ofsted and Her Majesty's Inspectors, and ones that don't come up to scratch are shut down.
"I know schools like Bury's Darul Uloom School, far from encouraging segregation, actively encourage pupils to become social workers, while one recent graduate is now a teacher in a mainstream school."
Ms Kelly also said the government was opposed to Sharia Law.
And she said that she did not believe that the vast majority of British Muslims supported terror attacks on the United Kingdom.
Should Islamic schools which promote "isolationism" and extremism be closed down? Have your say.
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All religious school should be shut down. Christianity is the religion of Britain and if non-Christians cant attend these school they should be sent packing.
Education and religion along with government and religion must be seperate issues and should not be tolerated in Britain Any form of religious education other than use as a discussion point should be done outside school hours and should be entirely voluntary
This is a free country and if parents want to have their children educated in a school that reflects their particular values and faith, then it is their business and no one else's!!!
Once again. a muslim leader promotes stories that the west bombs muslims 'Children know fellow Muslims around the world are being bombed by Western forces', The only muslims that i know are getting bombed, are the terrorists that threaten western society! surely Muslims accept that ?!?!
Ruth Kelly's own words speak volumes..."Children know fellow Muslims around the world are being bombed by Western forces " So that's alright then?
This is supposed to be a free country, and if a muslim family wanted their child to be educated at an islamic school then so be it. There is no connection between the FEW muslims who have strange extreme ideas and islamic schools. Rather, those who are effected with extremism are because they never really learnt about islaam properly as they went to state schools, so they get easily mis-lead. I know because I became muslim about 6 years ago and i know what it is like to know nothing about islaam. I went through the hardships of learning about islaam and now i study it at university level. So i know through exprience that when one is a muslim and does not know much about islaam, it is very easy for him to fill in the gaps in they heads with emotions and extreme ideas. When a muslim sees his brothers and sisters being killed only because they live in a particular area can be very painful and can be hard to deal with if one is ignorant about the teachings of islam.
Allaah said in the Qur'aan:
"whoever kills a believer deliberatly then his reward is hell-fire, where he will reside, and Allaah's anger and curse is upon him"
And Allaahs messenger Muhammad said:
"Whoever kills a non-muslim (that muslims have a peace treaty with) will never smell the fragrance of Paradice"
So if a muslim learnt about islaam properly he would know the above and know that suicide bombings are against the teachings of islaam.
And plus, the grades of children attending religious schools are a lot higher then secular mixed schools. Mainly because boys get a lot more distracted by the girls in their classes, and that is a proven fact, proven by non-muslims. As for the two previous comments, then there is no need to point out their stupidity and it just shows their small-mindedness and racism.
bye to you all, and may the peace and blessings of Allaah be upon those who follow guidence.
i noticed kelly said SHOULD be closed down and not WILL another load of meaningless hot air from one of tonys cronies .
I thought muslims wanted to intergrate with the British society.....Having these schools just shows they say one thing and mean another