A parent refuses to send his children to school after a teacher mistakenly displayed the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) image during an assembly.
The incident occurred at Hunter’s Bar Junior School in Sheffield when the Prophet’s image was shown during an assembly on April 30 that celebrated children’s achievements during Ramadan.
This incident comes a month after a teacher was suspended at Batley Primary School, after showing a Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) cartoon during a class, pending an investigation by the school.
Atif Mohammed, the father of the child, said: “I’m not letting my kids go to school until this matter is resolved. I believe awareness needs to be out there for that to happen, otherwise it is going to get brushed under the table again.”
The Federation of Mosques urged the Muslim community to react with calm, stating that “The school has been in touch with parents and with community leaders and sincerely apologised and accepted the mistake they made during their Ramadan celebrations. Today they have announced an independent inquiry as well.”
They added: “They are asking for help to rectify the mistake. Therefore it is our duty to guide them to the right direction and enlighten them with Islamic teachings. We see no benefit in external elements getting involved in our city and raising issues. Therefore we ask you to accept the apology and let them complete the inquiry.”
Michael Watson, Headteacher of Hunter’s Bar Junior School, apologised for the error, “During a celebration assembly marking the holy month of Ramadan a mistake was made that resulted in a picture of the Prophet Muhammad being shown. We are aware and understand fully how offensive this is to our Muslim community and I offer my heartfelt apologies for the upset caused.
“I have been meeting and working with the children, parents and staff affected alongside other members of the Muslim community to do what we can to put this right and will continue to do so. We will conduct a formal investigation in accordance with the Sheffield Local Authority process into how and why the incident occurred and establish findings and actionable recommendations.
“I want to reassure our Muslim community that we are doing all we can to find a fair and just way forward that rebuilds trust and faith in our school, so you can be confident that our pupils, families and staff understand, support and celebrate our diverse community that we are so proud of.
“Once again, we want to acknowledge the deep hurt and upset this has caused some of our community and offer our sincere and humble apologies.”
