A public high school in northern England today, Thursday, apologized for a protest movement against the display of a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad (may blessings and peace be upon him) during a class, and announced the suspension of the work of the teacher responsible for that.
The presentation of the cartoon at a school in West Yorkshire, which is inhabited by a large Muslim community, comes months after a Chechen teenager killed a French teacher in October because the latter showed his students during a class on freedom of expression, cartoons depicting the Holy Prophet.
Sky News reported that the drawing shown at the Battley Grammar School was taken from the same series of cartoons first published by the satirical Charlie Hebdo newspaper that targeted gunmen in 2015 based in Paris. In an attack, 12 people were killed.
"The school makes a frank apology for using a totally inappropriate fee during a recent religious studies class," British School Principal Gary Cable said in a televised statement.
And he continued, "The member of the teaching staff also offered his sincere apology," stressing that "it is very important for children to learn that talking about religions and beliefs should be done with respect and consideration."
Muslim protesters have congregated at Batley Grammar School after a Religious Studies teacher showed his class pictures of the Prophet Mohammed, reportedly as published by Charlie Hebdo magazine.pic.twitter.com/pAo89JWMdt
- talkRADIO (@talkRADIO) March 25, 2021
A demand to resign
About 30 demonstrators, most of them men, gathered in front of the school to demand the resignation of those responsible for the incident, which reportedly took place on Monday.
Muhammad Sajjad Hussain, the founder of a local charity, strongly denounced the display of “insulting caricatures of our beloved Prophet Muhammad,” may God bless him and grant him peace.
He said that the charity will not continue its work with the school unless it intends to "final dismiss" the teacher.
On the other hand, the "Secular National Assembly" described the demonstration as "an attempt to affix the prohibitions of Islamic blasphemy to a school," while the British government did not immediately issue any comment.
It is noteworthy that in 2019, Muslim parents of elementary school students in downtown Birmingham organized protests over classes, the topics of which included gay and transgender relations.