In a historic achievement .. the best Islamic schools in Britain

Al Jazeera Net-London

Islamic schools in Britain made the event by taking the lead in the ranking of the best schools in the UK, in a historic and unprecedented achievement for Islamic educational institutions.

The classification issued by the Ministry of Education showed a monopoly of Islamic schools for the top three, while eight Islamic schools were ranked among the top 20 schools in the country.

The Tawhid Islamic School in Blackburn topped the government classification followed by the Aden School for Boys in Birmingham, followed by the Aden School for Girls in Coventry, third, in addition to five Islamic educational institutions that were named among the top 20.

This dominance of the first positions fell cold and peaceful on Muslim communities in Britain, which sees the classification in fairness to the work of these schools and contribute to change the prevailing stereotype of these institutions and curricula adopted, especially as the list issued by a government body known for its rigor in the adoption of accurate scientific standards to measure the quality All educational institutions in the country.

The Ministry of Education, as shown on its official website, depends on many criteria, including the level of students in scientific subjects such as mathematics, physics, science and English, in addition to the end-of-year rates, the level of development of students' points between the classroom, the percentage of graduates from the school and easy access to a job or continue to Higher Education.

Cultural responsibility
With great satisfaction, Abdul Salam Basu, a professor at the Islamic School in London, talked about the new classification of the Ministry of Education, saying that these centers are the fruit of years of work and as a result of the high scores obtained by students in these schools, which is the highest in the country.

The professor at the Islamic school founded by singer Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) revealed that all the staff of these schools deal with the educational curriculum strictly "and everyone works sensing that he carries a heavy cultural responsibility to educate the children of Muslims in Britain." To work accurately in all materials that are presented.

He drew Abdul Salam - during his talk to the island Net - along with an important care by Islamic schools, which is a state of psychological comfort among children.

`` We try to make children feel proud and confident in themselves and their culture, and that there is no difference between them and those who attend a regular school, '' he said, stressing the importance of teaching children universal and human values ​​based on respect for all regardless of color, religion or ethnicity.

"Our schools are not closed camps but an open space that celebrates diversity and cultural diversity," he added.

He spoke with great pride of the magnitude of the demand for Islamic schools, giving the example of his school, which has a long waiting list, "The more we open the door to seventy students, offering more than three hundred to reserve his seat, and the same is the case in many Islamic schools" expected more demand for Islamic schools In the next years.

Change stereotypes
Sajida Hamed (mother of two children attending an Islamic school in the capital) sees the new classification as timely to shed light on the successful experience of Islamic schools, which are plagued by injustice and stereotypes.

The mother of two children explains that these schools are no different from the rest of the British schools in anything "they adopt the same government curricula in all subjects without exception" in addition to teaching other subjects such as Arabic and Islamic education and the Koran "and this is good for Muslim families and Arab, which sometimes have To enroll her children in other schools to learn Arabic. "

Contrary to the perception that these schools are spaces focused solely on religious subjects, Sajida revealed that her children's school "provides them with music classes and learn mueshahs and traditional songs, but there is another Islamic school that teaches even poetry and ballet dancing under the supervision of a veiled teacher."

The mother does not hide her happiness with the results achieved by her children since their enrollment in the Islamic school and the development of their results in various subjects, whether scientific or related to Arabic, saying that this type of teaching combines rigorous educational attainment and preservation of identity `` This is an invaluable grant in the country of alienation. ''

More needed
The numbers differ on the number of Islamic schools in the United Kingdom.

Only 28 of the 6,800 religious schools in England are officially recognized in England, and Islamic schools are often not funded by the government, making their achievement more uniquely.

The voices of many Muslims to establish more such schools in view of the high proportion of Muslims, especially children, where statistics indicate that there are about 800 thousand Muslim children under the age of 15 in Britain alone, and given the good results achieved by Islamic schools, has become a growing demand for a year About the other.