Muslim child bullied for homemade lunches until parents complain

Staff at a primary school in east London intervened to stop the racist bullying of a young Muslim girl who was mocked for their homemade lunches after her parents raised concerns, Tell MAMA can reveal.

To protect their identity, we are not disclosing the name of the school or the identities of those impacted, but Tell MAMA can confirm that during lunchtimes, a group of mainly white students would cover their noses at the Muslim child’s meals that included rice and curry, causing her much distress and embarrassment, until she informed her parents of the situation, who, in turn, informed staff.

They agreed to have their story told to raise awareness after being made aware of the bullying late last month, adding that, following discussion with staff, the bullying students will no longer be able to interact with their child.

In response to growing concerns about anti-Muslim and Islamophobic bullying in schools, both primary and secondary, Tell MAMA created tailor-made safety tips for young people, and PDF versions are free to download.

Polling of 1,000 six to 15-year-olds revealed that just over one-in-three (32 per cent) of children had heard someone be racist at school, a figure that rises by the time they reach the age of thirteen to 52 per cent.

Although the polling did not control for ethnic background, it did, however, show that children living in diverse cities were more exposed to racism.

Earlier this year, the BBC reported that exclusions for racist behaviours in primary schools in England had risen by 40 per cent.

Advice on talking to children about racism from practitioners and experts appears on UNICEF, Barnado’s, the BBC and others.

Anti-bullying charities also publish supportive guidance about racist bullying and the statutory rights that underpin the issue.

Various Tell MAMA annual reports have included anonymised case studies where schools have and have not addressed bullying or discriminatory practices when we have advocated on behalf of service users.

You can get advice from our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086.

 

 

 

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Categories: bullying, News

Students helped killer find teacher who was beheaded, says French prosecutor

The 18-year-old suspected killer of a French teacher who showed caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad in class paid students to help him identify the victim, France’s terrorism prosecutor has said.

Prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard said a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old are among seven people who appeared before an investigating magistrate on accusations of complicity in murder in relation with a terrorist undertaking, and criminal conspiracy.

The suspect in Friday’s killing of teacher Samuel Paty, who was attacked and beheaded near Paris, offered students at the school 300 to 350 euros (£267 to £311) to help him pick out, Mr Ricard said during a news conference on Wednesday.

“The investigation has established that the perpetrator knew the name of the teacher, the name of the school and its address, yet he did not have the means to identify him,” the prosecutor said.

“That identification has only been possible with the help of students from the same school.

“That’s why the anti-terrorism prosecutor’s office has decided to prosecute two under-18 minors whose implication in the identification of the victim for the killer has appeared to be conclusive.”

A terror investigation is under way into Mr Paty’s killing.

Authorities have identified the killer as Abdoullakh Anzorov., an 18-year-old Moscow-born Chechen refugee who was later shot dead by police.

The surviving suspects also include a student’s father who posted videos on social media that called for mobilisation against the teacher and an Islamist activist who helped the man disseminate the virulent messages, which named Mr Paty and gave the school’s address, Mr Ricard said.

Two more men are accused of having helped the attacker by accompanying him when he bought weapons including a knife and an airsoft gun that were found near the 18-year-old’s body, according to the prosecutor.

Another suspect had close contacts with the attacker and endorsed radical Islamism, Mr Ricard said.

The French government issued an order on Wednesday morning to dissolve domestic militant Islamic group the Collective Cheikh Yassine.

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said it was “implicated, linked to Friday’s attack” and was used to promote anti-republican hate speech.

Other groups will be dissolved “in the coming weeks” for similar reasons, Mr Attal said.

Named after an assassinated leader of the Palestinian Hamas, Collective Cheikh Yassine was founded in the early 2000s by an Islamist activist who is among the seven people accused of being accomplices to the attacker.

Mr Attal also confirmed the government ordered a mosque in the north-east Paris suburb of Pantin to close for six months.

It is being punished for relaying the angry father’s message on social media.

Authorities say it has long had an imam following the Salafist path, a rigorous interpretation of the Muslim holy book.

A national memorial event is scheduled to be held Wednesday evening in the courtyard of the Sorbonne university.


Read More here: French militant group and mosque to close after killing

Suspect in French beheading was Chechen in origin

Demonstrations across France to mark the killing of Samuel Paty

The post Students helped killer find teacher who was beheaded, says French prosecutor appeared first on Faith Matters.

Categories: Abdoullakh Anzorov, France, militant Islamic group, News, Prophet Muhammad, Samuel Paty

French militant group and mosque to close after teacher’s killing

France’s president has named a domestic militant Islamist group as “directly implicated” in last week’s beheading of a history teacher who had discussed caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed with his class.

Emmanuel Macron said the group will be ordered dissolved on Wednesday, when a mosque that relayed a denunciation of the high school teacher is also to shut.

Speaking after a meeting with regional officials working to counter radical Islamists, Mr Macron added that other associations and individuals are on the radar to be shut or silenced.

Meanwhile, more than 1,000 people gathered in drizzly rain to honour Samuel Paty where he was beheaded on Friday as he left school in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, northwest of Paris.

Mounds of bouquets of flowers were piled in front of the school.

A terror investigation is under way into the murder by an 18-year-old Moscow-born Chechen refugee, who was later shot dead by police.

The killer has been identified by authorities as Abdoullakh Anzorov.

Mr Paty had shown caricatures of the prophet of Islam to his class earlier this month.

His civics course led to parental complaints and threats.

Sixteen people were detained, including members of the killer’s family and five young adolescent students at Mr Paty’s school.

Investigators are trying to learn how the killer, who lived in the Normandy town of Evreux, set up his encounter with Mr Paty, whether there was complicity and whether the beheading was premeditated.

Speaking in the Seine-St-Denis region, northeast of Paris, Mr Macron reiterated that he wants “tangible results” to combat “an ideology of destruction of the (French) Republic”.

Mr Macron said a group called the Collective Cheikh Yassine will be ordered dissolved at Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.

Named after a killed leader of the Palestinian organisation Hamas, the group was founded in the early 2000s by a man who is among those detained for questioning.

Mr Macron did not provide details on how the group was “directly implicated” in the attack.

Interior minister Gerald Darmanin said later on BFMTV that the person in question helped disseminate the virulent message of a student’s father against the teacher.

Mr Macron has asked for quick, concrete action in the case.

The French president is waging war on what he calls “separatism”, referring to Islamist extremism that authorities say has created a parallel world in the country that counters French values.

A mosque in the northeast Paris suburb of Pantin is also being closed for six months starting on Wednesday night.

A sign posted by the regional prefecture at the mosque entrance said the house of worship would be closed for six months – with a six-month prison sentence for violators.

The Pantin mosque is being punished for relaying a message on social media from the father of a student with a virulent complaint about Mr Paty.

The father quoted his 13-year-old daughter as saying the teacher had asked Muslims to leave the classroom – a version that was contested by Mr Paty himself, according to press reports.

Authorities say the mosque has long had an imam following the Salafist path, a rigorous interpretation of the Muslim holy book.

Pantin was also the home of an 18-year-old Pakistani refugee who three weeks earlier attacked and injured two people with a meat cleaver.

A national memorial event will be held on Wednesday evening to pay tribute to Mr Paty in the courtyard of Sorbonne university, a centuries-old symbol of the “spirit of Enlightenment” and “a forum to express ideas and freedoms”, the French presidency said.


Read more: French leader decries Islamist terror attack against teacher

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Categories: Abdoullakh Anzorov, Emmanuel Macron, mosque, News, Pantin mosque, Salafist path, teacher