To ask you not to judge all Muslims by the actions of the men outside the school

[flashbac]

Hi

It shouldn't need saying but...

Please don't judge us all by the actions of a vocal few.

Some have already acknowledged the protesters were mostly if not all angry young men with seemingly nothing better to do. They don't represent all Muslims.

As Batley's late former MP said:
"We are far more united and have far more in common than that which divides us.”

It was disgraceful the school had to close and the demonstrators weren’t dispersed and fined.
Not ok to attend a vigil for a murdered woman, ok to protest about a bloody cartoon of a supernatural being 🙄

Not ok to attend a vigil for a murdered woman, ok to protest about a bloody cartoon of a supernatural being

Absolutely this! Basically if you’re an obnoxious person with a penis you can protest away!

@BrumBoo

Many of us know that images of the Prophet are forbidden after Charlie Hebdo and I would have expected a teacher to know as well.

It is not forbidden. There are no laws against it. It is a religious rule, no one outside of that religion has to respect it in any way what so ever. Others may not like that, but not liking or agreeing with something doesn't make it illegal or should cause a person to lose their job.

This. I am Jewish and would not write G-d's name but does it bother me if my friends do? No, because we have different beliefs.

Yes I'm uncomfortable with grown men standing around outside a school... In an aggressive and threatening manner.. The police should have moved them on and the men themselves should shrug and ignore the "drawing".. Not stand around like that intimidating people

One is a personal reaction to a picture.

Someone's personal responsibility to choose how to react.

However physically standing around outside school gates,.Reading out ridiculous statements etc.. Are actual actions that couid go further.

But no matter how hard you stare at a picture.. It won't be reach out and behead you.

@MH1111

It was disgraceful the school had to close and the demonstrators weren’t dispersed and fined. Not ok to attend a vigil for a murdered woman, ok to protest about a bloody cartoon of a supernatural being 🙄

Completely this.

I know it's because showing images of the Prophet is specifically prohibited

It's not

There is no ruling in the Quran explicitly forbidding the depiction of the Prophet, according to Prof Mona Siddiqui from Edinburgh University. Instead, the idea arose from the Hadiths - stories about the life and sayings of Muhammad gathered in the years after his death.
Siddiqui points to depictions of Muhammad - drawn by Muslim artists - dating from the Mongol and Ottoman empires. In some of them, Muhammad's facial features are hidden - but it's clear it is him. She says the images were inspired by devotion: "The majority of people drew these pictures out of love and veneration, not intending idolatry."
At what point then, did depictions of Muhammad become haram, or forbidden?*
Many of the images of Muhammad which date from the 1300s were intended only to be viewed privately, to avoid idolatry, says Christiane Gruber, associate professor of Islamic Art at Michigan University. "In some ways they were luxury items, perhaps in libraries for the elite."
Such items included miniatures which showed characters from Islam

Crowds protesting outside a school like that is offensive to many. They can write a letter of complaint to the school like other aggrieved parents do, but crowding around the gates and intimidating people is indefensible.
Love to know how these people all get time off work to stand around the streets.

As for 'find a different religion' - don't be ridiculous. I hope you don't actually think that's how it works?

^

I'm all ears... How does it work?

Yes the lesson could have been taught a different way and the same message conveyed.
Parents getting their message across could be done a different way too.
Lots of those outside the school are not even parents of kids at the school

Positively medieval scenes.

I certainly wouldn't judge all Muslims. Nor would I necessarily expect other people who follow the Muslim religion to condemn the protests for a couple of reasons: they're not doing them and condemnation/dealing with the behaviour in our secular society should be left to the police and elected UK officials whose role it is to do so, not a few religious people.

As for the cartoons, of course they can be shown and it's ridiculous to treat them as if they're banned because they're not and nor should they be. There should never be any blasphemy laws. That man who thinks he should be able to scrutinise and authorise school teaching materials need to wind it in. As long as they are factual, there shouldn't be a problem. Feeling unsafe because of a drawing indeed

No not in the slightest. You could also tell a lot of the protesters were very young men, too young to be parents, the same as in any group of people, there are always ones out for trouble.
Anyone who judges or stereotypes a group of people, be it race, colour, religion....etc..... aren't worth thinking about.

A lot of the protesters were also too old to be parents of students at the school.

@ChazsBrilliantAttitude

notanob Creating images of people is not encouraged in Islam (only God can create) that is why Islamic art is often based on geometric patterns and calligraphy.

So creating an image is problematic. If that image then appears to be poking fun at Mohammed that is more offensive.

DH is Muslim I am not. I don’t believe in being gratuitously offensive to any religion. However, trying to stop people using materials that may be offensive in a legitimate debate is not acceptable.

The protesters are not doing my Muslim DH and sons any favours. It is sending out the wrong message.

I think that's the most sensible commentary on all of this that I have read.

[quote Susie477]@callmeH

I couldn’t agree more.

#Notallmuslims
#Notallwhitepeople
#Notallmen[/quote]
Yep. Lazy, bigoted generalisation is lazy, bigoted generalisation (in general ).

I am well aware many will consider me Islamaphobic for this but here goes.

Last week we had people saying "not all men" and that is true but it is almost always men that commit the atrocious crimes in the media at the time.

I agree it's not all Muslims- I have a lovely friend who is Muslim, British and incredibly tolerant- but unfortunately it is almost always Muslims that are offended by non-Muslims disrespecting their religion and reacting in an equally intolerant manner. The teacher had police protection FFS.

Prepared to be flamed but genuinely feel I'm saying what many believe.

The thing that struck me from the footage on the News was that most of the protesters were men - so that was half the Muslim population in the area not taking part for a start....... Also, just because some Muslims overreacted doesn't mean they all will any more than I would suspect all Muslims of being terrorists because some are.

Most of the Muslims I know are very kind and thoughtful people.

Angry men can protest and disrupt children’s education over a cartoon, women can’t hold a vigil for a murdered woman

I agree this could have been done in a more sensitive way but I think we are heading into dangerous waters when we restrict the freedom as adults and children to debate and question things we are shown and made to believe. Isn't this what we encourage in our children? How can we become tolerant of others beliefs if we attack them so forcefully and refuse to listen to others points of view? Limiting this freedom, especially concerning religion and what we are told as children can and does lead to extremist views.

YANBU at all OP. Shouldn't need saying.

My brothers a christian and has regular involvement helping at the church. He has 2 church friends who are rude idiots. I don't think all Christians are dickheads just because they are. Hope you are ok OP.

We are in a pandemic and it's an utter nonsense.
The police should have dispersed and moved them on swiftly under pandemic laws and any other law they could and stamped on it.
Allowing them to congregate, intimidate.. Actually stop children's eduction when they have only just gone back is beyond disgraceful.

Wow. A quarter think I'm being unreasonable for asking not to be judged. FFS.

I think that's pretty bigotted to be honest.

Apparently blokes from Huddersfield, Bradford and Manchester came to protest. Lads with nothing better to do. I'm still angry about it as you can tell.