Majlis-e-Ulama-e-Shia Europe expresses great concern over the recent statement regarding Ofsted’s proposal to question primary school-aged girls the reason they wear the headscarf. Such an action would be outright harassment and discrimination of Muslim school girls who choose to wear the headscarf. According to Ofsted, ‘fundamental British values’ are: democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty, mutual respect for and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and for those without faith. Targeting Muslim girls who wear the headscarf clearly contradicts these essential values which Ofsted makes it their mission to uphold.
We strongly object to these proposals and the attempt to use vulnerable children in the ongoing rhetoric against the religion of Islam.