UK government minister Michael Gove launched an inquiry conducted by a former counter-terrorism police chief into claims of an Islamist plot to take over schools in Birmingham weeks after being briefed that a letter describing details of the so-called Trojan Horse affair was bogus, a new investigation has revealed. Conservatives are constantly confounded by this tactic. It is believed that at least 25 schools in Birmingham are now being investigated in response to allegations of what the media and city council are routinely describing as takeover bids by hardline Muslims. But its also the story of its own making. Alam and his peers were focussed mainly on academic achievement, but embracing kids cultural identities had an effect, the series says. BBC Gardeners World star Monty Don says 'don't use it' in urgent warning. Wagner's network in Africa faces uncertain future, Prigozhin's soldiers rage while others cry conspiracy, How one temple feeds 100,000 people a day. We spend some time in a car outside houses, and make a polite foray into a school; the final image is of a man on the other side of an office door, refusing to come out. It leaves listeners with a very thoroughly implied idea of what happened with the letter, to combine with hours worth of scrutiny of what happened in the schoolsand plenty of room for our own perspective to fill in the rest. The government brought charges against more than a dozen educators, mandated that all schools teach British values, and required teachers to report potentially extremist activity to the authorities. Trojan Horse schools affair: Did UK minister mislead parliament. He was later dismissed and given an interim ban from teaching after investigators uncovered vile homophobic and mysogynistic messages he had shared with other teachers and governors in a WhatsApp group called the Park View Educational Trust Brotherhood. We were changing the status quo and driving the agenda forward by valuing these children and their backgrounds," he said. In 2014 Birmingham's education system was the centre of national attention following publication of the Trojan Horse letter which alleged a plot to 'Islamise' a number of schools with majorities of Muslim pupils. Read about our approach to external linking. In another conversation, Reed says that hes motivated not by possible impact but by whether its a good-ass story. This is meant to sound noble, I think. Everyone in authority wants it to be forgotten, despite all the flaws in the investigations that followed and the holes in the narrative.. The Trojan Horse affair had a significant impact on government counter-terrorism policy. By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy & Cookie Statement. Birmingham Trojan Horse letter 'no hoax' - BBC News This past spring, Richard Bernstein investigated the questions hed been asking his whole careerabout right, wrong, and what we owe one anotherone last time. I am glad the old Muslim boys network was dismantled but wish it had been exposed another way and not through the lens of extremism and Trojan Horse, as this conversation would have looked very different.Shaista Gohir, executive director of the Muslim Womens Network UKBirmingham, I very much enjoyed Laura Cummings article on the exhibition A Century of the Artists Studio: 1920-2020 at the Whitechapel Gallery (Where the magic happens, the New Review). But, in an official report about whether there was an Islamic takeover of Birmingham schools, that detail was brushed over. Several allegations of sexism and homophobia are presented and disputed. Wed 2 Mar 2022 08.30 EST Last modified on Fri 4 Mar 2022 11.35 EST B efore meeting the investigative journalists behind the New York Times podcast The Trojan Horse Affair, I had dinner with. The eight-episode podcast, created over three years, has garnered a huge reaction so far. The hosts come at the story from different and often complementary points of view: Reed (S-Town) is white, American, non-Muslim, and an established journalist, and Syed is Pakistani British and, as the series begins, a doctor turned journalism student in Birmingham. they pretty much admit the guy was islamicizing the schools . Sir Mike said there had been "significant changes" over the past year since the report by Peter Clarke. Copy link. The professional conduct panel of . From my own research into Islamophobia, Operation Trojan Horse would not be the first time that spurious claims have been made about Muslims and Islam in recent years. The letter outlined a plan to bring in new school governors, undermine head teachers and ultimately introduce changes sympathetic to the group of conservative Muslims. Muslims still bear the stigma of the Trojan horse scandal. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Where they occur they need to be dealt with effectively and quickly. Trojan Horse 'plot' schools timeline - BBC News Visit our cost of living support page. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. "I loved my job with a passion, it was a purpose. The Trojan Horse Affair Podcast - The New York Times Much has been made of the dossier. The Observer Serial Letters: the catastrophic effect of the Trojan Horse Affair The podcast about the 2013 allegations that there was an Islamic plot to take over Birmingham state schools was. But the pairs discoveries over four years of a dizzying, farcical and enraging investigation also raise questions about the response of public officials who ordered investigations of their own into the alleged plot. He decided to help Syed, and throughout the series we hear them working, thinking, talking, sighing, and driving around. "We have FOI inquiries dating back to 2019, still with the Information Commissioner's office. Rights and wrongs of the Trojan horse affair in Birmingham Copyright 2014 - 2023. A sense of a cohesive identity is being lost. He also claimed the protests that took place in 2018-19 at Parkfield and Anderton Park primary schools in Alum Rock and Sparkhill over equality teaching were rooted in Trojan Horse fallout. The impression you are left with the Trojan horse letter critics are a closely-knit group of influential and powerful people who are part of the same lucrative "counter-extremism" industry and at the center of lobbying for policies that view Muslims as a suspect community and support the draconian "counter-extremism" policies such as Prevent . described in the 'Trojan Horse' letter has been seen at a number of schools . Reed says that he genuinely embraces objectivity; Syed says that he does, too, although he also cares about impelling change. Almost exactly a year ago, a government inquiry led by former counter-terrorism chief Peter Clarke found "sustained action carried out by a number of associated individuals to introduce an intolerant and aggressive Islamist ethos into a few schools in Birmingham". When that letter surfaced, the chaos that followed, most of which was bereft of clarity and evidence, led to ferocious headlines and drastic policy changes neverthelessthats when I accepted that all of us Muslims were in trouble. The story soon explodes in the news and kicks off a national panic. 9 June 2014: Investigations by Ofsted lead to, 10 June 2014: An Education Funding Agency investigation prompts, 17 June 2014: Parts of Peter Clarke's report for the DfE are leaked to The Guardian newspaper. The letter describes tactics such as exerting influence through school governing bodies and stirring up complaints by Salafi parents and staff in order to undermine and force out headteachers, and names schools as examples where these tactics are purported to have been successful. Syed calls Reed mate a lot; hes fired up and impassioned. The new secretary of state for education, Nicky Morgan, makes various pledges following the Trojan horse reports on Birmingham schools. East Birmingham has a significant population of Pakistani British Muslims, and many local schools were mostly populated by Pakistani British Muslim kids; Syed was unsurprised when the story became a sensation. "Whatever anybody says, it was no hoax," Sir Mike said. The content of the podcast does not change this. I write as someone who was a long-time governor at Golden Hillock school, renamed after the Trojan horse scandal. On one page of the report, theres a diagram of a clip-art man, representing Alam, who has lines emanating from him in all directions, like a web, connecting him to icons of schools, cultural institutions, and other educators with Pakistani names. I am struggling to come to terms with that, he said. people; this somewhat casual reference to Alams views is startling, as though the series is trying to demphasize inconvenient details. Conservative politicians, who knew not to let the opportunity go to waste, used the "Trojan Horse letter" to stall an education movement that sought to help immigrant communities integrate. Piers Morgan text Sarah Ferguson after cancer diagnosis and was floored by reply. Almost exactly a year ago, a government inquiry led by former counter-terrorism chief Peter Clarke found "sustained action carried out by a number of associated individuals to introduce an intolerant and aggressive Islamist ethos into a few schools in Birmingham". Park View had been deemed outstanding by school inspectors; it was Goves own department that asked the schools leadership to oversee other local schools. 2023 Cond Nast. Several schools in Birmingham were investigated amid claims of a Muslim hardliners' plot to control them, known as the Trojan Horse affair, which began in 2014. The anonymous letter, which was sent to Birmingham City Council, alleged a socially-conservative sect of Muslims was trying to get their own members on to governing bodies and ousting head. First, the NUT has brought concerns to the attention of the local authority on a number of occasions and over a number of years more so in fact than any other union. Speaking to BirminghamLive from his current base in New York, 35-year-old Hamza said he had been blown away by the reaction to the podcast, released by the New York Times earlier this month - including calls for a new public inquiry. "In the interest of teachers falsely accused of misconduct and of a community falsely accused of 'un-British' values, there must be an urgent inquiry into the handling of the matter by the Department for Education and Birmingham City Council," Holmwood told Middle East Eye. We promised to demonstrate our point and packed the school hall for a social gathering, food and music included. He lists some of the affairs effects, in a tone of barely restrained frustration, and the Humanist walks out of the room. The Making of 'The Trojan Horse Affair'. The Dreyfus affair in France, like Trojan horse, was based on a bogus letter. The Trojan Horse Affair A strange letter appears on a city councillor's desk in Birmingham, England, laying out an elaborate plot by Islamic extremists to infiltrate the city's schools. 33 Posted by u/-Bridget 8 months ago Very good podcast. The series also explores how Birmingham City Council officials had appeared to overlook possible links - described in the podcast as a blindspot - between the letter and an employment dispute at a local primary school, and had retracted an audit report linked to that case. MEND chief executive Azhar Qayum coordinated the online discussion and supported the podcast, saying it adds to "excellent work" by Prof John Holmwood (a Nottingham academic who supported Trojan Horse teachers in their legal battles and later wrote a book about the affair), and others over the Clarke Report findings. 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Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. A letter outlining a plot by some Muslims to take over schools in Birmingham was "no hoax", according to the city's education commissioner Sir Mike Tomlinson. Trojan Horse scandal - Wikipedia However, Sir Mike said work remained to improve "community cohesion". New York Times tones down Trojan Horse podcast exploring alleged Sign up for our daily newsletter to receive the best stories from The New Yorker. In it Hamza and New York Times journalist podcaster Brian Reed embark on a three year quest to try to prove who they believe fabricated the letter that purported to be an exchange between co-conspirators in a plot to Islamify schools. 'The police recommendation including the counterterrorism unit is that the letter was bogus'. In 1997, he began volunteering at his old secondary school, Park View, as the chair of its governing body. He intends to return to Birmingham shortly, but with no clear idea of what comes next. What happened? Dr Rehanna Parveen, a University of Birmingham researcher, said she had been a student at Park View in the 1980s, when standards were 'not very high' - by the time her own nieces and nephews came of age, the family fought to get them into the school because it was so highly respected. In 2014 an anonymous letter was sent to journalists detailing a 5 step plan to Islamise schools in Birmingham. The New Yorker may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Razwan Faraz, former deputy head of Park View, Birmingham City Council - still facing questions over the handling of the Trojan Horse claims, Protests outside Parkfield Community School over equality teaching, Former Park View School, which was at the centre of the Trojan Horse allegations, Birmingham became the centre of attention for all the wrong reasons during the Trojan Horse allegations. The podcast has been hailed as a decisive breakthrough in the search for answers over the affair, with calls for the authorities to respond in full over the 'missing' audit report and other issues. Classic horror films to be screened as open-air cinema returns to Dudley Castle, Birmingham Airport parking - prices and where to park as BHX braces for busy summer, Eid ul Adha warning over food hygiene laws as millions prepare family feasts, Memorial service for 'remarkable' hospital worker who married her sweetheart just weeks before dying, Teenager jailed for life for zombie knife murder, Hundreds gather for funeral of "passionate" Cradley and Wollescote councillor, Countdown has begun to end of Putin, say Kyiv officials, Anger in Paris after police kill teen in traffic stop, Belarus leader welcomes Wagner boss into exile, Van life is far from glamorous on LA's streets, China crackdown pushes LGBT groups into the shadows, The endangered languages that are fighting back. About sharing. Dont let those who lost the battle in 2014 win the peace in 2022, he said in a letter. Indeed, West Midlands Police are currently investigating claims that it is a hoax, and some statements made within the dossier seem to suggest this might be so. (The principal and T.A.s declined to be interviewed for the podcast.) With food system strategies and legislation under way in all the devolved nations, this is an excellent opportunity to consider how legislation introduced in Westminster could benefit everyone. In one episode, then city council leader Sir Albert Bore meets with the podcasters to hand over some papers linked to the affair, including a briefing note he received ahead of a meeting with Michael Gove that made clear the letter was likely a hoax. They semi-ironically relish the gumshoe element of their project, riffing about Sherlock Holmes and Watson, sipping tea and pondering evidence, establishing an HQ in Syeds placehes living in his parents apartment while theyre out of the countryand joking about a murder wall, which they do set up, plotting out clues. Mr Faraz was in the leadership team at one of the Park View Educational Trust schools in Alum Rock when the controversy broke. One of the more publicized stories involves a teacher calling gay men animals in a WhatsApp group and adding, As teachers we must be aware and counter their satanic ways. (The man has since disowned this view.) Dubbed the Trojan Horse affair, the scandal centred around claims that extremists were attempting to wrest control of Birmingham schools in an effort to introduce an "Islamist" or "Salafist". Composite:. There is a serious credibility gap. A letter outlining a plot by some Muslims to take over schools in Birmingham was "no hoax", according to the city's education commissioner Sir Mike Tomlinson. The documentary, though fearmongeringwe hear its tense, urgent music and the sharp tones of its narratorhad a powerful impact on Alam; he learned how many Muslim kids were struggling, and how the school system was failing them. She said while measures recently introduced, such as new rules for governors, had improved matters, issues raised by the official inquiries had "not gone away". Report into allegations concerning Birmingham schools arising from the 'Trojan Horse' letter, July 2014. He was forced to resign last July and now faces the possibility of being permanently banned from involvement in education. The series begins to feel like a cross between All the Presidents Men and The Thick of It, Armando Iannuccis brilliant political satire in which local foul-ups swiftly become tragicomic national nightmares, and every politician is equal parts craven and incompetent. Letters Rights and wrongs of the Trojan horse schools affair in Birmingham Education secretary Nicky Morgan tells MPs that Peter Clarke's findings into the Trojan Horse allegations show. The endangered languages that are fighting back. Birmingham Trojan Horse affair: Calls for new public inquiry Lecturer in Social Policy, University of Birmingham. The dispute involved allegedly forged resignation letters from the T.A.s, accepted by the principal, which the T.A.s denied writing; Reed and Syed strongly suggest that the Trojan Horse letter could have been a ham-fisted effort to divert blame in an equally ham-fisted resignation-letters scheme. The Trojan Horse scandal, also known as " Operation Trojan Horse " or the Trojan Horse affair, involves claims of an alleged conspiracy [1] [2] that there was an organised attempt to introduce an "Islamist" or "Salafist" ethos into several schools in Birmingham, England. Hes sick of having to be respectful to people he doesnt respect; he may be sick of journalism, too, he adds. "The Trojan Horse Affair" reignites a row over - The Economist Where can I read the original Trojan Horse letter? - Reddit Trojan Horse Bookmark How a school at the centre of the Trojan Horse scandal has been 'healed with love' Schools in Birmingham Bookmark Open letter slams Birmingham board member on. Second, it was the NUT that brought the Trojan horse letter to the attention of the local authority and insisted that the matter was discussed and investigated. Birmingham City Council and the Department for Education have defended their handling of the affair, while city MP Khalid Mahmood has urged people not to overlook the findings of the inquiries into it, or allow those implicated at the time to rewrite the narrative. The council did not want us to do this story, people refused to engage with us, he claimed during our online hangout. And then theres the letter. She was accused, she said, of running a cult, of running staff down, and told the gathering: "I have felt completely alone. The letter seemed to describe a plot to infiltrate Birmingham's schools, Trojan-horse style, "and run them on strict Islamic principles, potentially with the aim of radicalizing students . Now a fundraising manager for Human Appeal, a humanitarian islamic charity, he also runs a charity and hosts workshops and retreats. It must be our highest aim. Birmingham schools: Education Commissioner's report - GOV.UK Report into allegations concerning Birmingham schools arising from the Trojan Horse letter, July 2014, Download: Report into allegations concerning Birmingham schools arising from the Trojan Horse letter, July 2014. This beneficial ownership list is accessible by UK law enforcement and international agencies via our beneficial ownership secure search system. They will, though, be helped by the unique strength and goodwill of people in Birmingham itself.Tim Brighouse, Gus John, Arun Kundnani, Sameena Choudry, Akram Khan-Cheema, Arzu Merali, Robin Richardson, Maurice Irfan Coles, Gill Cressey, Steph Green, Ashfaque Chowdhury, Ibrahim Hewitt, Baljeet Singh Gill, Arshad Ali, S Sayyid, Massoud Shadjareh, Abdool Karim Vakil and Tom Wylie.
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