School is asking children to say ‘peace be upon him’ anytime Mohammed is mentioned

[Kitkat189]

My child’s teacher asks the class to always say ‘peace be upon him’ if the prophet Muhammed is mentioned in RE, for example. Used in a sentence it would be something like ‘Muhammad peace be upon him is the founder of Islam’

The teacher explained that this is to show respect to the Muslims in the class.

This is the first time I’ve ever heard of this. Is there an expectation that non Muslims use this expression? Or is it more of a courtesy? I am guessing the latter?

And if it’s the former, should people be compelled to utter this phrase out of respect? To literally wish peace upon a prophet of a religion they don’t belong to? I realise this is not a problem for the majority of people but out of interest, would a devout follower of another religion have objections to this?

(This is year 6, teacher is not Muslim, there is one Muslim in the class whose family are pretty secular, he told the teacher he doesn’t use this expression himself.)

If it were a religious school and was during worship then fair enough, in RE then no, inappropriate, it's educational only, but a good thing to teach children that followers of the faith do this

Ah right

So in RE do they also have lessons where someone says phrases from an atheist point of view? Role playing activities where the christian child plays an atheist explaining why he will not bow his head to pray or sing a hymn. The child has to say " because gods don't exist and I am unable to join in"

Would you be equally supportive of them being shown such respect?
I bet you aren't!

I mean you can repeat the phrase "respect" all you like but I will continue to assert that expecting a person to utter a phrase of goodwill everytime they talk about someone's god is a complete overreach and entirely disrespectful to that person.

Teaching "from a place of understanding" only requires non Muslims to know why Muslims say that phrase. It does not require them to chant the words themselves.

No I really didnt say we have to speak respectfully about religious figures! I commented that we are aiming towards a respectful and tolerant society. However, I must ask what is wrong with speaking in a respectful way about religious figures (in an RE lesson in particular)?

How many times is this likely to come up really. Is it so bad ? It's showing a bit of respect to their classmates. I do also think that when Muslims say Jesus they say peace be upon him. If it annoys you just tell your kids not to say it

So when teaching sikhism teachers should say Mr Nanak instead of Guru Nanak?

Sorry, I didnt reply to your last question- yes, noone should be forced to chant or join in with religious rituals. Of course. This is not what RE is about at all. I dont think your atheist point quite works (if you are referring to a teacher asking children to say peace be upon him) but I understand your point. The fact is that RE lessons are not about this anyway. If it is true that this happened then the teacher has misunderstood (no doubt she was coming from a good place).

It's right there in the quote history.

You said it at 11.22

For centuries atheists have been rejecting being part of any Christian worship and blasphemy laws are now removed in the UK.
We do remove our children from practices of Christian worship in assembly.
So you're wrong

People are forgetting that this seems to be one teacher’s decision. The only (secular) Muslim child has not asked for it. I can’t see that ‘a particular’ faith is demanding it.

SergeantDawkins · Today 14:07
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It’s been taught for decades and people only kick up a fuss now because Islamophobia has become so socially acceptable (sadly

Husband and I (60s), kids (30 and 21) grandchild (4.5, in Reception) were never taught this, in various parts of the UK. Where has it been taught (as in actually requesting all children to repeat it) for decades?

I have no problems with Islam, (well, no more than any other religion!) really enjoy living in a diverse society. Positively welcome migrants (for whatever reason) and think Reform and the like are racist wankers. Being taught comparative religion as an interesting subject, fine by me. Religiously indoctrinating children, - which is a fine line I believe the situation in question certainly hovers above -not fine at all.

Apologies I am multitasking- cooking and typing at the same time. To clarify, you typed ‘you said we had to respect religious figures’ - this is what I meant to refer to. I do not believe you have to respect any religious figures. I do think that to encourage a tolerant and respectful society it would be an idea for everyone to be respectful of everyone’s beliefs and worldviews (eg when learning in an RE lesson) - this would include speaking respectfully about someone’s religious leader (eg not saying ‘well I think he is a sky fairy/ it’s a load of nonsense) as well as expecting people of religion to show respect/interest in a an atheist/humanist/whatever point of view. And to answer a question you asked to someone else, yes, atheist points of view are discussed in RE and it would not be a problem to include this in role play - eg when learning about Humanists children may act out The Emperor’s New Clothes and learn from different points of view.

I assumed that poster was being sarcastic. Most Muslims don’t want Xmas banned etc.

“Chant”
your bigotry is showing

Several previous posters myself included have commented that this was taught to us 20+ years ago

To an atheist that is exactly what any religious words of worship are!!!

YOUR bigotry is showing

How far does respecting someones beliefs go?

Why do I have to respect someones beliefs?

What about Trump or Nigel Farage? Should I respect their beliefs?

SeargentDawkins
Several previous posters myself included have commented that this was taught to us 20+ years ago

Really? You were told to repeat PBUH after every mention of the prophet’s name in a British school more than 2O years ago?

Where was that?

I have never heard of this until this thread. Ive worked in schools and now work with children and have never heard of this being part of something that is said

Have you been teaching(or TA'ing) RE , particularly Islam ?

Interesting that OP never came back to clarify exactly what this asking/compelling/forcing consists of. What the consequence of not doing it, is.

What I imagine happening would be teacher showing/reading a PowerPoint that included Muhammad(pbuh) bla bla bla.

Kid: miss what does pbuh means?

Teacher : it means peace be with him. That's how muslims refer to him as a sign of respect every time they speak and write his name. I've added it /it's on the PowerPoint (teacher didn't actually make it) as it's a common expression that you will encounter in the future and to show how important he is to muslims.

Kids picking up bits and pieces as they normally do. "ohhhh if we want to be respectful we have to use pbuh."

That’s super inappropriate. I’m Jewish and went to a Church of England school with chapel and so I just didn’t say the parts of prayers I didn’t agree with. No one would ever have insisted I say them.

BlueSilverCats · Today 14:17

MrsSkylerWhite · Today 14:00
TwinklyRoseTurtle · 15/02/2025 17:21
I don’t see the issue, would it be such a problem for you if it was a different religion 🙄

Would be a major issue for me, whatever the religion , because I’m atheist.
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So when teaching sikhism teachers should say Mr Nanak instead of Guru Nanak?

They can call him what they like just as long as the kids aren’t instructed to heap praise upon him out loud.

Well , they actually can't as guru has a specific (special and religious) meaning in Sikhism. A meaning that is explained and taught to them , so they understand it's not his (first) name. There's no option of not using it or any asking either , they're just taught the full thing. Somehow no one has ever complained about that .

Nevermind all the sentences like Jesus loves us because, Jesus saved us because or activities like making birthday cards for Jesus and thanking him for sacrificing himself and what not.

According to Sikh belief there is no difference in spirit between such a Guru and God. “The Guru is God and God is the Guru; there is no distinction between the two” says Guru Ram Das

Sikhism was established by ten human Gurus. Usually means a teacher of religion. In Sikhism, it also refers to the ten human messengers of God

The guru is seen as the one who "dispels the darkness of ignorance."

It is not a neutral term.

Just to help muddy clear the waters a bit ...

Is it any mention of the name "Mohammad" that requires the extra ink "PHUH" ?