The teacher from Batley is still in hiding

[Nicetrynigel]

Teacher Batley
His life ruined because a bunch of thugs decided they didn't like what he was teaching in his RE lesson.
This and the Labour MP's request for bhalsphey laws against those of the Abrahamic faith have made me concerned.

People should be free to offer an view against another's religion. It's scary that we are being a country where people thing being offended gives them a right to made death threats.

This was going on long before the last election…🙄

Yes I totally agree with this. Doesn’t matter what religion you are, we will absolutely take the piss. It’s what Brits do.
I hate all religion but each to their own. We’ve taken the piss out of Christianity and JW for decades, we will do the same to Islam and any other religion.
I deplore racism but religion is fair game because it’s bullshit (obviously my own opinion, not yours)

The point i am making though is that if you want your child only to receive teaching which aligns with your own religious beliefs, then the choice is there.

Religion-fairytales made up eons ago to suppress poor behaviour and console children.
I’m sorry but this poor man has had his life turned upside down for showing a poxy cartoon. HTF is that worthy of death threats?

making jokes about a disability is not the same as making a joke about someone's beliefs. I don't believe in Allah or follow the Koran and a Muslim wouldn't acknowledge The Torah or the Holy Bible, as after all they are all made up books with Gods that nobody as ever seen. Disabilities are not fictional.

New to this thread so might be adrift of latest info.
Has any Muslim Leader commented publicly? I know that Islam does not have a hierarchy the way Churches do. There is no equivalent of Archbishops or Cardinals or The Pope. There are however leaders with Authority. Have any commented publicly to agree that the teacher was wrong and should be murdered like the Fatwa against Salman Rushedi which nearly succeeded. Or have any disagreed and supported free speech or said he was wrong but does not deserve such a punishment.

I think it has been left to local self appointed KnowNothings to keep it simmering.
How this enhances the standing and seriousness of Islam in the world we work out for ourselves.

It was reported at the time that content of lesson had been approved by the Senior Leadership Team and had been taught, by other teachers, the previous 2 years. The demonstrations and rioting was instigated by outside (the school) activists groups and it was this poor teacher, simply delivering the set curriculum, and his family who suffered.

He was delivering an element of the curriculum that had been passed by headteacher and senior leadership team. The lessons had been used by teachers the previous 2 years. Teacher was just doing what he’d been told!

Maybe we should introduce blasphemy laws, take us back to the days of Mary Tudor. As a Christian country, we make everyone go to church and worship the Christian God, or burn them at the stake.

Quite frankly it's disgraceful that this poor teacher has been threatened with no apparent consequences. It makes a mockery of the law.

Death threats aren't ok. But you can't say everyone who objected to what he did, are guilty of being so extreme. I'd liken it to yhe protests/riots after the Southport stabbings, some people turned up with no intention of committing criminal damage, threatening behaviour or verbal abuse. JK Rowling and Dianne Abbit have had death threats, Jo Cox was actually murdered, it all came from the non Muslim population. Just because a few issue death threats doesn't ever mean that there shouldn't be a discussion.

If it had have been racist or sexist caricatures, 'just following orders' wouldn't cut it. Why he isn't making statements on that and meeting with the Inman is a mystery then.

It baffles me that religion is a “protected characteristic” the same as race, gender, sexuality and disability. It’s a load of superstitious nonsense that has been turned into organised religions designed to control people through fear and division, yet men are still fighting over who has the best imaginary friend. Makes me so angry.

Speak with the imam? It's his Jummah that are causing all the problems for goodness sake, speak with the imam to call off the dogs and educate them into realising death threats and the like won't be tolerated in this country

Death threats aren't ok. But you can't say everyone who objected to what he did, are guilty of being so extreme

I wouldn't dream of it, @Ponoka7, mainly because it simply wouldn't be true

Some of us know very well that the vast majority of muslims are thoroughly decent people, and like them get very tired of Islam being corrupted by those who encourage violence for their own selfish ends. After all it's not as if the Holy Quran specifically bans images - though it does prohibit oppression - and even the interpretation of the Hadiths varies between various sects

As I've said repeatedly those doing the threatening aren't behaving Islamically, and perhaps it really is their own inadequacy driving the behaviour rather than external factors

The blasphemy acts were in 1650 and again 1661
Well after Mary Tudor,

Anabaptists were the first to be burnt at the stake, by Henry and Cromwell

What he did was showing the newspaper article, people should be able to debate/argue a point but instead take offence therefore everything in now censored not to cause offence, is that what the majority of people want no freedom of speech? For example Criticism of the Pope wouldn't have people reacted in this matter

I showed the Charlie Hebdo cartoons/caricatures in my class in a very different context (A Level French after Charlie Hebdo massacre and since) as it was current news a few years ago and I believe it is still relevant to the curriculum which covers diversity in the society. The point was for the students to debate where is the boundary between the freedom of speech and racism, and whether you can have a diverse society with all the different groups working together, and whether religions etc enrich the society or create barriers.
I guess Im glad no one threatened to kill me for delivering the curriculum.

The night? The Charlie Hebdo attentat was during the day. Which arrondissement were/are you in?

I live in the 16th. DH and I were watching the news in fear all of that night.

Though I am not sure why you need to know where my family and I live.

But they are tolerated and that’s the problem.

Because I think I remember you overdramatising this from when Charlie Hebdo happened. That was a Wednesday afternoon.
Bataclan etc, was a night.
I wasn't watching it on the news.

Yeah, I think you might need to check your facts as I wasn't even on Mumsnet in 2015. But I was living in Paris. I've been here since 2011.

But I am happy to accept your apology.

There will be no apology. You don't even seem to know when it happened.

It was 2015, as I just said.

You have repeatedly talked about "that terrible night", in reference to Charlie Hebdo. If you had actually, genuinely been affected by it as much as you are claiming, you would know damned well that it happened during the day, on a Wednesday afternoon, just as the children were being released from school for the Wednesday half-day.