Him telling his neighbours some racist nonsense as well does not fill me with confidence. He added: 'It is worthy of note that at the time the 'Trojan Horse' letter was received by Birmingham City Council, none of the details of the Adderley Primary allegations were in the public domain, leading to the inevitable conclusion that the author of the letter was someone with detailed knowledge of what was happening at the school.'. Akhtar said that in 2009 Darr told staff and pupils to collect up all the books in the school. If you're in a leadership position and receive a resignation letter that the author immediately disavows as a fraud, in what world is an acceptable response to force the resignation anyways? The dynamic is great and we see Hamza go on a journey and experience the pitfalls of journalism. The four women said they told the school they had no intention of quitting and their signatures were forged after they made formal complaints about their treatment at the school with Birmingham local authority. They would amount to little but for their persistence, ability to articulate grievance, and skill in gaining support from the loudest voices in the activist milieu. [It] is worthy of note that at the time the Trojan horse letter was received by Birmingham city council, none of the details of the Adderley primary allegations were in the public domain, leading to the inevitable conclusion that the author of the letter was someone with detailed knowledge of what was happening at the school.. Adderley Primary School was one of the schools mentioned in the so-called Trojan Horse letter, . Easier to go along with the racist narratives. It was also necessary to protect the new counterterrorism powers that were ventured on the letter in order to further discipline and control Muslims. All rights reserved. Throughout western history strategic ignorance has played a key role in maintaining the image of the west as a benevolent force for good in the world at times when its conduct suggested otherwise. Ben Wallace, the defence secretary, has conceded defeat in his bid to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as secretary-general of Nato. Required fields are marked *. Our city deserves better. In fact, there was very little fact checking of the allegations contained in the letter, either by the journalists that initially broke the story for The Times or by the British Humanist Association which received a complaint about Birmingham Schools by two white teachers, because to do so would tug at the veil of ignorance under which the state and sections of the mainstream media were shamelessly residing. Opprobrium has been heaped upon those who have publicly taken a different view to the NYT podcast. Ultimately there is so much going on that it is hard to keep track of who has been harmed as a consequence of this fake letter. . In response, Williams said such policies were modest and pragmatic responses in a school where 97% of the children were Muslim. Im saying I dont know who wrote it.. When both reports were published, the Clarke report found no evidence of terrorism, radicalisation or violent extremism in the schools of concern in Birmingham and no evidence to suggest that there is a problem with governance generally. When the first leak of the Trojan Horse plot arrived in the mainstream media, it was through Richard Kerbaj and Sian Griffiths, writing for The Times. The Trojan Horse letter was the work of Mark Walters. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. Three of our Muslim sisters along with an English woman who is their close friend, have raised an allegation of fraudulent resignation letters against the head (even though they did actually write the letters themselves), the document claims. The pupils suffered after the Trojan Horse conspiracy theory and that is the most despicable thing. Hamza Syed refers to the instrumentalization of the letter by Rizvana Darr as being a form of racist judo, knowing the communitys weakness, and using the power of that weakness against them. For more information, please see our The NYT podcast seeks to rehabilitate Tahir Alam, who in 2015 was barred from managing or being a governor at any independent or maintained school. So someone from the school must have faked those letters? Williams asked. The consequences that flowed from the narrative of an Islamist plot resulted in people losing their jobs, a school with an exceptionally good reputation for producing outstanding students starting to fail again, and significant changes in policy and law through the UK governments counter-terrorism and counter-extremism strategies. They would amount to little but for their persistence, ability to articulate grievance, and skill in gaining support from the loudest voices in the activist milieu. Consider ShaistaGohir of the Muslim Womens Network, whose complaints of sexism by Muslim men are dismissed (modern). The 'Trojan Horse' letter came to light while the four women were proceeding with an employment tribunal against Adderley school, but the hearing was adjourned when West Midlands Police arrested the colleagues on charges of conspiracy to defraud, in April last year. The NYT intervention served as catnip for those who claim to speak for British Muslims. the point of proving the letter is a forgery is to prove that the racism and islamaphobia is so entrenched in the culture that a completely false claim led to many people losing their jobs based off something that was a total lie and no one cared that it was a lie. From as early as 2010 I was being told by parents that they were going to make sure I leave. This podcast @serial is a must listen https://t.co/PPv4vewCdU, Anyone who wants to understand how the War On Terror has poisoned British politics should listen to the The Trojan Horse Affair, about an anonymous letter that set of the 2014 moral panic about the Islamization of Birmingham Schools https://t.co/TucviXgFR0, The Trojan Horse Affair is perhaps the most significant example of how the War on Terror led to the wholesale demonisation of British Muslim communities and the destruction of British Muslim careers and reputations. Soon after, not only is an audit conducted by the Council that finds Darr at fault but also the police begin investigating the headteacher of criminal wrongdoing. Rewinding to before the Trojan Horse letter and going back to the time of the Adderley resignation letters - Instead it criticises Rizvana Darr, the successful head teacher of Adderley School, who declined to take part. Yes, Akhtar said. of Islamophobia when she says Brummies dont want their children taught conspiracy theories. All the above (the evidence and key areas of further investigation) had to be deliberately ignored whilst evidence of the influence of an Islamic ethos at the schools was amplified to protect the narrative of the Trojan Horse plot and everything that had been ventured on it. This letter changed everything. Syed was only a student when he started investigating the letters origins, and it is commendable that Brian Reed was interested enough, and trusted in Syeds instincts, to team up with him for a platform such as Serial. Privacy Policy. They had brought a complaint to the British Humanist Association, an organisation with a long history of Islamophobic discourse, who then passed on their complaint to the Home Office. When the Packers were interviewed about what they had actually seen, it turned out to be little more than their own prejudiced interpretations of Muslim life. They centred a letter that was written from an anonymous source, that ostensibly set out a plan to take over schools in Birmingham in a five-step process, citing examples of actions taken in other schools. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. Reddit, Inc. 2023. She also flatly denied being part of any 'conspiracy' together with the other claimants against the headteacher, alleged to have been 'on the grounds that Mrs Darr has an allegiance to a different branch of Islam to the other three claimants'. For more information, please see our She and her ex-colleagues are alleging resignation letters they purportedly signed and sent to the headteacher Rizvana Darr at the end of 2012, were forgeries. was systematically used in order to vilify Birminghams Muslim population. Also the book had racist undertones, bearded goats. Adderley primary school and its governors maintain the resignation letters were part of an effort by staff members to destabilise the school. may explain why three schools run by the Park View Academy, under Tahir Alam, were struggling in terms of governance. An inquiry into the Trojan horse allegations commissioned by the Department for Education and conducted by the former Met counter-terrorism chief Peter Clarke stated: There is a detailed description of a plan by some members of staff at Adderley primary school to falsely accuse the headteacher of forging their letters of resignation. Peter Clarke said in his report he had not looked in detail at claims about Adderley as, by then, the police had arrested the four teaching assistants over their resignation letters. Cant wait to listen to this. Piers Morgan text Sarah Ferguson after cancer diagnosis and was floored by reply. Strategic ignorance functions to keep the racist lie alive so that it can wreak its havoc. The NYT 's 'Trojan Horse Affair' podcast portrays a city that is unrecognisable to me. Teaching assistant Hilary Owens, 46, also told Birmingham's Employment Tribunal she and three other members of staff were the victims of faked resignation letters. All rights reserved. They all vehemently deny any association with Trojan Horse. The letter was widely considered to be fraudulent, and the chief protagonist of the alleged plot (Tahir Alam) was able to quickly identify who he believed to be the likely author of the letter. Wallace had been a strong contender for the job, owing to his role in supporting Ukraine after Russias invasion. 'The next day I wrote to Mrs Darr again saying how shocked I was at the suggestion that I had resigned. From that point onwards, the anonymous letter which the police, Birmingham City Council, and those who were alleged to have been behind the plot all decried as a fake was systematically used in order to vilify Birminghams Muslim population. 'I then found out three other members of staff were also told by Mrs Darr that she had received their letters of resignation on December 10. The weaponization of the Trojan Horse letter was necessary for the legitimacy of the raft of new counterterrorism policies and powers and it functioned as a key piece of evidence in demonstrating the need for the new draconian powers. While there is enough evidence presented that there was never any plot to take over schools in Birmingham, officials still act as if there was something to be concerned about. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. I won't accept the resignation, in that case.". Opprobrium has been heaped upon those who have publicly taken a different view to the NYT podcast. I heard subsequently that they were to be referred to as chocolate eggs and not Easter eggs, Owens said. Onlookers scream as man 'hit with axe and gang tries to run down others in van', One sickening video showed a red van mount the kerb before attempting to plough into a group of fighting men, Dan Walker walks off stage after Piers Morgan hits out at him during speech. Keiligh Baker for MailOnline Hamza Syed and Brian Reed present eight programmes seeking to make the case that a 2014 letter Operation Trojan Horse detailing an activist plan to influence local schools, was a hoax. World What the New York Times gets wrong about the 'Trojan Horse Affair' Khalid Mahmood Khalid Mahmood 24 February 2022 10:37 PM The New York Times has it in for Britain. It is for that reason that in its review of the podcast, the Financial Times critiqued the podcast for its focus on the details, because the detail shatters the illusion. Rizvana Darr : r/TheTrojanHorseAffair - Reddit The plot alleges a five-step process to take over schools - including identifying key staff to implement the plan. Last week the tribunal heard evidence that Darr demanded all images of pigs be removed from the schools library books, as well as instituting Islamic assemblies and bringing in an imam to conduct Friday prayers with male pupils. Hamza Syed was still a journalism student when he started asking questions about the authenticity of the letter. The headteacher of a school linked to an alleged plot by Islamist hardliners to influence state schools ordered staff to remove childrens books containing pictures of pigs, an employment tribunal in Birmingham has heard. In her witness statement presented to the tribunal, which she signed last month, Mrs Darr refers to the report penned by former anti-terror chief Peter Clarke who was appointed by the government to investigate Trojan Horse. Pixie Lott announces she is pregnant and says she's 'beyond excited'. For example, Baldwin (1985) argued that white America could not accept the veracity of the grievances from Black America related to slavery because it would implicate it in racial oppression and destroy its image of itself. DAY 2. Rizvana Darr, the head of Adderley primary school in east Birmingham, which was linked to the so-called Trojan Horse plot, was said to have told staff to remove or cover up images of pigs on furniture in the school, and to remove books containing pictures of pigs, including popular childrens cartoon character Olivia. The NYT investigation focuses on the Trojan Horse letter because it cannot deconstruct the detail of all those enquires. She sounds like a good Muslim headteacher and determined in improving standards. The Trojan Horse letter was the work of Mark Walters. This was seen in Albert Bore's approach. Four teaching assistants - Hilary Owens, Rehena Khanom, Yasmin Akhtar, and Shahnaz Bibi - are currently claiming unfair dismissal from Adderley Primary School in Saltley. The auditors concluded by November 2013 'that it appears false resignation letters have been produced' and the 'local authority does not support the actions of the schools and governors following receipt of the letters'. Mark Walters has been removed from his current school's - Reddit Ms Bibi said: 'Each class teacher made a list of children in their class who were Muslim.'. What really happened in The Trojan Horse Affair? - The New Arab
Day Trip To Bimini From Fort Lauderdale, Articles T