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.)

Obviously not it's only when referencing the prophet.

I recall a story about a hand dipped in honey and then into the sand ?

But I don't believe in prophets.

Now profits on the other hand ....

@SerendipityJane fair enough.

There's quite a few prophets (and numerous profits) in Islam, including Jesus. They all get the courtesy pbuh.

15 yo Jesus from Brazil tho? No need.

I went to a Roman Catholic school and pupils were expected to bow their heads when they said the name "Jesus". In practice the most perfunctory nod sufficed, and this only happened in the context of a prayer, not if He* was mentioned in the context of a class discussion etc. I suspect most people would think bowing every time Jesus' name came up was a bit daft and excessive. The thing in the OP is no less so.

*Old habits die hard - I forgot we were also taught to capitalise pronouns referring to Him, but then my typing fingers did it just there!

Oh hell no.

I teach children about this but I don't expect them to say it and I don't say it myself. There are similar phrases or respect for Guru Nanak, for example, and I don't expect pupils to use those or to cross themselves if we're learning about prayer.
I think it crosses the line into worship, to be honest and I think as RE teachers it's very important we don't do that (in a non dom school).

You’re proving my point slightly , by saying Guru Nanak, you're already signifying him as more than any Sikh or human down the street. You’re acknowledging his status and significance in Sikhism, which is directly influenced by the religion. You’re showing him respect. Why not just call him Mr Nanak or Nanak or Nanak Dev Ji?

No only then referring to the prophet

Ive never heard of it needing to be said by children in RE. No.

@soupyspoon was it present in the teaching materials/resources though?

We were taught it’s not respectful to say or write the name without adding (pbuh) and that’s still the case now.

I wasn't taught this, in fact I only knew of it from this thread

Do you mean all children had to say it or they were taught some might say this?

My kid wouldn’t be doing this lesson! No way would they be being forced to say that. It’s a load of shite

We were taught to use it when doing school work on this particular topic.

As others have said, it’s the same as using words like Guru, or capitalising Him/He when writing about God.

It’s not about trying to make kids worship a certain religious icon (and it’s certainly not a chant) generally it’s about teaching them the correct way to refer to certain things.

I suppose it was required for the topic in school, and any test answers, to show understanding.

I didn’t look much further into it as it didn’t really impact my life beyond a few RE lessons a couple of days a year and maybe once a year one question on a RE test.

TBH it’s never come up since school. I have Muslim friends, I expect if I ever spoke to them about their religion specifically I would probably ask whether they’d prefer I use PBUH in conversation or if it’s something they think only members of the faith need to do.

Forced how exactly? Please expand.

Tbh I thought it was common knowledge and I’m surprised that anyone isn’t aware or is bothered about their kids saying/writing it for a few lessons.

I wonder if there’s a link between those who learned it at school and those who are less enraged by understanding, tolerating and respecting others.

Well, I'm using the title he is known by. As I would be if I said the Prophet Muhammad. Or Jesus Christ.
I suppose it's a slight difference but I see a difference. Like if I asked them to say "may his name be praised" every time they mentioned God.

I'm not 'enraged' but I do question religions

They have good parts but also damaging parts and I wonder if we get the balance right for dc

The reason they last as much as they do is because it's normalised for children

I'm sure people can think of harmful aspects of religion

I was watching The Weakest Link celebrity a few weeks back and I heard Roo Irvine (antiques expert) say "Peace be upon him" after correctly answering the prophet Mohammed to a question. I had to rewind to make sure I'd heard correctly as I'd never heard this used on TV. Not a problem but would a Christian say (or be allowed to say) blessed be Christ, for example?

I think those comparing saying Guru Nanak instead of Mr Nanak with saying pbuh after saying Muhammad are being ridiculous and desperate. If you just said Mr Nanak people would have no clue who you were on about. It's like saying Mr Frances instead of pope Francis. You'd have to repeat in several times and then eventually say pope Francis before people knew what you meant.

You do realise that atheists don't capitalise the words he/him when referring to a Christian god though don't you?

So you're still not making a point.

You do realise that atheists don't capitalise the words he/him when referring to a Christian god though don't you?

However, this is something that kids are actually asked to do in schools.

Well now I'm having second thoughts. I think I'd write (pbuh) if I was making a document. But I don't think I'd say it.

I wouldn't ask students to do that, it's not universal.

What happens if these kids refuse to repeat pbuh after saying the name Muhammad? Maybe they don't respect him and can give solid reasons for this, such as raising an army to convert people to Islam?