The crisis of integration
Mafia-style Islamist extremists are using intimidation to impose their will
As Britain grapples with the complex challenges of integration within its diverse society, nowhere is the struggle more apparent than in its schools. The crisis of integration in British schools is a pressing issue that demands thoughtful examination, as it not only influences the academic experience of students but also shapes the fabric of society.
According to many conservatives, multiculturalism is a major concern because it undermines social sociability, resulting in distrust and segregation. In schools, this results in cultural enclaves, with students predominantly interacting with peers from similar backgrounds. This unintentional segregation can hinder the development of cross-cultural understanding and perpetuate social divides, undermining British values of tolerance and rule of law.
Another effect of multicultural segregation is the psychological impact it has on minority groups who begin to feel as though their identity is under attack by state institutions such as schools. This has led to the occasional threatening and intimidating of teachers into conforming to their fundamentalist beliefs. Take, for example, the case of Barclay Primary School in Leyton, east London, which has been forced to close its doors after it received sustained bomb and arson threats in response to its uniform policy prohibiting the wearing of pro-Palestine badges. The school recently told parents that it might have to "revert to online learning" if the safety of children and staff cannot be guaranteed. This news comes after videos went viral of a protest outside the school gates on the 21st of December alleging that an eight-year-old boy was being bullied by teachers for being Palestinian. Masked men have also been discovered climbing the school fence at night to hang Palestinian flags around the school’s perimeter.
Such scenes are eerily reminiscent of the scenes outside Batley Grammar School in 2021 whereby crowds of Muslim men protested for a teacher to be sacked after showing a cartoon picture of the Prophet Muhammad in an RE lesson. The teacher in question who has changed his name is still in hiding after receiving death threats. This might seem an extreme reaction to some, after all, we do not live in Pakistan or Saudi Arabia under some kind of Islamic law. Blasphemy has not been a crime in this country since 2008 when the offense was formerly abolished in England. Yet in the UK and other countries, people have been murdered for insulting Islam. The most high-profile case this decade was the killing of Samuel Paty, a French schoolteacher who was beheaded by a terrorist outside his school for showing a Charlie Hebdo cartoon of Muhammad. Charlie Hebdo, of course, is the infamous French magazine famous for insulting both Islam and Christianity with its satirical caricatures. In 2015 two Islamist terrorists stormed their offices, killing twelve people. The anonymous Batley Grammar teacher, therefore, does have reason to fear for his life. He does not want to become the next Samuel Paty or Charlie Hebdo, and neither does any other teacher.
This fear of Islamist terrorists is of concern to many people across the country, especially teachers who see their role as to inform and educate rather than to pander to religious sensitivities. Yet this is not an issue teaching unions or mainstream political parties want to touch with a barge pole. I wonder why. Perhaps it’s because of the growing risk public figures and MPs are now facing from Islamist extremists. Notable examples include British author Salman Rushdie, who was stabbed multiple times by a terrorist in 2022 and given life-changing injuries, as well as British MP David Amess who was stabbed and killed the previous year by an Islamic State fanatic.
It’s bad enough that schools and public figures are being intimidated and attacked by Islamists. But the fact that the issue of Islamist bullying is being ignored is only emboldening the religious fanatics and undermining the rule of law, a fundamental British value. This is of particular concern for schools like Michaela Community School in Greater London where some pupils have been bullied and intimidated into praying and wearing the hijab by more religiously observant Muslim pupils. When the school tried to stop this from happening by banning prayer, they were taken to court.
Institutional cowardice around the crisis of integration, particularly the crisis in integrating Muslim communities across the country is a national scandal. We cannot continue to allow religious extremists to intimidate schools and teachers, forcing them to pander to religious sensitivities. It undermines tolerance, it undermines free speech, and it encourages more extremist violence against public figures. People need to speak out against this and raise awareness of what is happening. Any concessions to religious extremists will only embolden them to continue their harassment. Police also need to start breaking up Islamist demonstrations around schools and arresting those who incite violence. Until this becomes a priority issue for local and national governments, the insidious colonization of our public sphere will continue.