Debate on images of the Prophet Muhammad continues

Should teachers show controversial images of the Prophet Muhammad to children?

 

This has become a hotly debated topic in the UK after a teacher showing a controversial image at Batley Grammar School in Norhern England. The images were published in  the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

 

The dispute comes after French teacher Samuel Paty was murdered following reports he showed an image of the prophet to pupils at a school near Paris. The school in West Yorkshire, where there is a large Muslim community, has apologized. The caricatures are said to  link Islam with terrorism.

 

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community UK group said in a statement: “It is completely unacceptable that such offensive material was used in the school and this is deeply distressing.

 

“It is vital that schools work to build a society that is based on mutual respect and understanding.”

 

Protests ‘not right’: Minister
The UK is home to more than 3.3 million Muslims, according to the Office for National Statistics – about five percent of the overall population.

 

Robert Jenrick, the housing secretary, told Sky News that the protests were “not right”.

 

“That is not a road we want to go down in this country so I would strongly urge people concerned about this issue not to do that,” he said, adding reports the teacher is in hiding were “very disturbing”.

 

Others saw the school’s apology and teacher’s suspension as a sign that free speech was at risk. The National Secular Society called the protest an “attempt to impose an Islamic blasphemy taboo on a school”.