Students support teacher in Prophet row
PUPILS CLAIM LECTURER IS ‘NOT RACIST IN ANY WAY’
THE creator of a petition calling for the reinstatement of a suspended teacher accused of showing students a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad has said pupils at the school ‘do not believe he is racist in any way.’
And they have revealed more about what actually happened in the lesson that led to two days of disruptive protesting at Batley Grammar School’s gates – and the teacher allegedly being put under police protection.
It comes after students at the school on Carlinghow Hill were allegedly shown derogatory cartoons taken from the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.
In an update to the petition created last week by an individual claiming to be a student at the school, they said the teacher ‘was trying to educate students about racism and blasphemy’ and that he ‘warned the students before showing the images.’
The ‘message from Batley Grammar School students’ said the cartoons had been used during a discussion on what racism can look like.
The students said: “We do not support Islamophobia in any way.
“We believe we should educate the future generations against racism, by showing those cartoons (which we will not do again out of respect).
“We intended to educate how disgusting it can truly be because the world deserves to know the truth. The RS teacher thought exactly the same, that the truth of racism needs to be shown to the world so that we understand and combat it in every aspect of our lives.
“We have watched our RS teacher defend the integrity of all religions within classes and we do not and will not believe he is racist in any way.”
Referring to their petition, bidding for the teacher’s exoneration, the pupils added: “We outnumber those who oppose the RS teacher. With a bit of hope and a lot of effort we can help the teacher that has made such a positive impact on so many of our lives.
“This is our repayment to him. And to the people who oppose the teacher fiercely, we don’t wish to harm nor fight them. This is with peaceful intent.”
Reports suggest the teacher in question has not returned to his home in several days and is now under police protection.
More than 61,000 people have now signed an online petition for him to be reinstated.
The fallout from the lesson led to angry parents congregating outside the school’s gates to demand the teacher in question be sacked.
Dozens of protesters made their way to the school last Thursday before headteacher Gary Kibble issued an ‘unequivocal apology’ and announced the teacher in question had been suspended pending a formal investigation.
But the move did not satisfy protesters who returned to the gates of the school on Friday – and warned they would continue to do so everyday ‘until the teacher is sacked.’
The protests have been condemned by the Department of Education as ‘completely unacceptable.’
The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson has commented on the controversy.
They said: “It’s never acceptable to threaten or intimidate teachers and we encourage dialogue between parents and schools where issues emerge.”