Monday 29 October 2007

Thanks for the changes Ed



A Muslim campaigner praised the government for plans to bring in faith schools into state funding.

Mohammed Shafiq from the Ramadhan Foundation in Rochdale told the Secretary of State for Children, Ed Balls, the plans, which will effect more than 120 Islamic schools in the UK, will be welcomed by the Muslim community.

Mr Shafiq went to meet ministers in London to talk about issues facing the Muslim community.
He said: "When the government is doing something right then they should be told that.

"In this case plans to introduce faith schools into state funding brackets is great news.

"Right now for many parents sending their children to a faith school is jot an option due to the fees.
"Many families have more than one children and to send them all to faith school will leave them out of pocket."

He also thanked ministers on vanishing the use of the words 'Muslim extremists' and 'Islamic terrorism.'

He said: "These words were pandering towards islamaphobia and were demonising towards Muslims and ministers told me that the government has stopped using these terms.

"I have not heard them use them in many weeks and this was something that we had been calling for."