Over 40 Islamic weekend schools and clubs in Britain run under the umbrella of “Saudi Students Clubs and Schools in the UK and Ireland” are teaching anti-Semitic material to about 5,000 children ages six through 18, according to a BBC documentary titled “British Schools Muslim Rules” set to air Monday evening.
While researching the network of after school programs, documentary workers discovered that textbooks used by the Islamic schools claim that Jews transformed from pigs and apes, and that the main goal of the “Zionist movement” is “for the Jews to have control over the world and its resources” – a charge straight out of the anti-Semitic pamphlet, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. In addition, while one of the books for high school-ers uses a diagram to show how the hands and feet of thieves are chopped off, another for six-year-olds says that non-believers will be condemned to “hellfire” after death.
An image from one of the books showing how to cut off the hand of a thief. |
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According to Quilliam, a think-tank that studies radical Islamism, the books, which originated in Saudi Arabia, are not being used in the Kingdom anymore since the Saudis took steps to modernize its religious education. “The Saudi authorities need to use their influence to ensure that hate-preaching is fully tackled both at home and abroad,” Quilliam spokesman Talal Rajab said. In fact, in 2007, BBC Newsnight exposed similar anti-Semitic sentiments in textbooks at a Saudi school in London. Following the incident, the Saudi government said it would conduct a “comprehensive” review of all offensive material in their curriculum at that time.
The Muslim population of Britain has risen rapidly over the years, and research shows that Muslim children are the most segregated in Britain. Part of the problem may be the weekend schools that reinforce separatism rather than promote the core values of a liberal democracy. Unlike in 2007, however, this time the British government will look into inspecting weekend schools and clubs itself, which it currently does not do. Hopefully, a comprehensive inspection by the British government will bring such anti-Semitic teachings to an end in the UK for good.
