More sense from Polly Toynbee

[NotAllThere]

The male converts are generally those who've married a muslim girl - it's a requirement. However there's no requirement for a non-muslim woman to change her religion if she marries a muslim man, so long as the children are brought up muslim.

[xoggoth]

in fact a few are home grown like this one

Not that darn Ginger haired Muslim again! About 1.1% of Muslims in the UK are white British and most are women, rarely the fanatics.

[xoggoth]

Religious teaching is not the issue, the problem is you have a particular whackjob religion with whackjob followers and people are too scared, or to liberal, to get in their way and stop that one religion having schools

Perfectly true that extremism is mainly a problem in Muslim schools but I think impartiality is an important principle in law. If moderate Muslims feel targeted that may increase extremism. Having rules on what may or may not be taught in any school helps solves the Islamic problem without anyone being able to claim discrimination.

[vetran]

I'd like to see less lefty teaching in the profession, some of them are like bad Fred Kite caricatures.

I'm all for religious schools but they need very careful management as they seem to attract nutters and peados.

[NotAllThere]

But what serious programme of sex education or prevention of homophobic bullying can
there be in schools where most teachers adhere to ancient texts that punish gays

Bollocks. Most teachers are like most of the UK society - viewing religion and the bible as irrelevant.

The argument about teaching all religions is equally testicular. The Bible had a huge effect on Western civilisation - some positive, some negative. The Koran has had some effect, but nothing like as much. Since the heritage of the UK is essentially Christian based since the bloody immigrants arrived displacing native religion, it makes sense that teaching about Christianity and the Bible should be given more weight than teaching about other faiths and other texts.

Or should the history of Pakistan be given equal space in the syllabus as the history of Britain?

Polly Filler has not deviated from her track record of spouting nonsense.

[minestrone]

Religious teaching is not the issue, the problem is you have a particular whackjob religion with whackjob followers and people are too scared, or to liberal, to get in their way and stop that one religion having schools. "

[doodab]

Perhaps we need something like this over here:

Home - Freedom From Religion Foundation

[SueEllen]

This is still a Christian country founded and Christian beliefs, morals and values. Those that come here should make the effort to integrate. They can have whatever faith they want in their own time - as long as they keep it too yourself.

Actually the country's religions was historical based on religions on what we now call "pagan" Christianity was brought over by some bloody immigrants possibly Roman ones.

We should be as tolerant towards Muslims as Saudi is towards Christians. Its their country and they can do as they want.

The vast majority of our Muslim population aren't from Saudi and a fact a few are home grown like this one

I have only ever read one sensible article from Polly - where she despised inherited wealth. A fine example of Thatcher values where those who work hard earn the rewards from it. Values sadly lacking in the LabTory one party system.

If you have a well-known parent/grandparent you don't need inherited wealth if you kind of follow in their footsteps...........

[SueEllen]

yes, lets run the country based on the experiences of you and your family.

Gove runs the Department of Education like that so I think you are on to something.....

[BrilloPad]

This is still a Christian country founded and Christian beliefs, morals and values. Those that come here should make the effort to integrate. They can have whatever faith they want in their own time - as long as they keep it too yourself.

We should be as tolerant towards Muslims as Saudi is towards Christians. Its their country and they can do as they want.

I have only ever read one sensible article from Polly - where she despised inherited wealth. A fine example of Thatcher values where those who work hard earn the rewards from it. Values sadly lacking in the LabTory one party system.

[minestrone]

No to paying for state funding of religious schools!!

I have religious family members and they insist on sending their kids to secular state schools.

In fact the ones who went the Church schools were the ones who "found God" to get into a supposedly good school.

yes, lets run the country based on the experiences of you and your family.

[SueEllen]

No to paying for state funding of religious schools!!

I have religious family members and they insist on sending their kids to secular state schools.

In fact the ones who went the Church schools were the ones who "found God" to get into a supposedly good school.

[xoggoth]

I don't know why (as a righty) I am supposed to hate this lady as she makes so much sense:

What is needed is socially and religiously integrated education. All children should be taught religious education,
learning about all religions. But what serious programme of sex education or prevention of homophobic bullying can
there be in schools where most teachers adhere to ancient texts that punish gays? It's hard to complain of some of
the teachings in the Qur'an when Gove sends a Bible to every school, filled with the most extreme and bizarre
prohibitions.

Who knows how these investigations will navigate the thicket of acceptable versus unacceptable religious teaching. But this saga makes the BHA's pleas for broad secular education for all children all the more pressing. Wide horizons that open minds to all ideas and beliefs should be the state's goal, liberating all children from the prejudices of their own backgrounds. To put Muslim children or those from other religious groups into a separate category that overly respects their parents' views is to limit their horizons and deny them true equality.

The Muslim 'Trojan Horse' schools frenzy hides a need for integration | Polly Toynbee | Comment is free | theguardian.com

Quite. Society has advanced in many ways (not nearly far enough admittedly) towards a rational society, democracy, equality of the sexes, freedom of choice as long as it does not unduly impact others, is it time to start giving the boot to the greatest millstone around the neck of humanity, religion?

People should also have freedom of choice to follow their religious beliefs and to teach them to their children but that does not mean specific religious faiths, funded by all taxpayers, should be taught by schools.