School ‘ bullied’ into dropping hijab ban on girls under eight

A TOP primary school’s chairman of governors was branded a ‘coconut’ after girls under eight were banned from wearing the hijab.

St Stephen’s imposed the ban on the Islamic headscarf before Christmas to help younger pupils integrate into British society.

The school in Newham, east London, also stopped pupils from fasting on its premises during Ramadan.

But it was forced to back down after being accused of racist, disgusting and Islamophobic behaviour, and of failing to consult parents properly.

Chairman of governors Arif Qawi, 54, resigned on Friday, and the school – rated outstanding by Ofsted – said it had reversed its ban after ‘speaking to the school community’.

Mr Qawi, who was born a Sunni Muslim, faced vile abuse. One message sent to him read: Controversy: Pupil in a hijab ‘Shame on you, you dirty coconut. If God doesn’t guide you, may he humiliate you and expose you as he already has – the treacherous scum that you are.’

‘Coconut’ is used as a slur against ethnic minorities to suggest they are betraying their culture by being white on the inside although brown on the outside.

More than 20,000 people had signed an online petition calling for the ban to be reversed, with many saying head teacher Neena Lall, 50, should resign.

But insiders claimed the school was bullied into the move, receiving abusive emails from across the country, with offensive comments posted online against both Miss Lall and Mr Qawi.

One critic accused the school of bigotry and discrimination, others suggested Miss Lall should be ‘marching in EDL ( English Defence League) marches instead of running a multicultural school’ or be ‘forced to wear the hijab’.

Muslim website Islam21c, which is run by Islamic scholars, imams and professionals, said Miss Lall and Mr Qawi were ‘basking in their own bigotry’.

Hardline Islamic group Muslim Engagement and Development (Mend), which has faced accusations of extremism, claimed credit for the school’s U-turn.

The group said on Twitter that the decision followed ‘meetings between the school and parents acting on Mend’s advice’.

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was accused of cosying up to extremists in November after attending an event held by Mend but snubbing a formal dinner with Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu. A report by the Henry Jackson Society thinktank said Mend was an ‘extremist-linked group’ that has hosted ‘illiberal, intolerant and extremist Islamist speakers’.

A school insider said the Government had let them down by failing to take a stance on the ban, adding: ‘We saw that forcing girls to wear the hijab at such a young age was alienating them in the playground.

‘And there is nothing in the Quran that says children should fast so young. Ninety per cent of the parents are behind Neena.’

Labour MP Khalid Mahmood said: ‘There is no religious obligation to wear a hijab for young girls.’ A hijab is usually only worn by young women after puberty.

The Department for Education said it was up to schools to set their uniform policies, ‘but we would expect them to consider the needs of pupils and to listen to the views of parents’.

No one from the school was available for comment.

‘Alienated in the playground’