Pupils in religious studies class ‘were not upset’ by images of Prophet Mohammed, it is claimed

From the Telegraph

Students in a religious studies class shown a cartoon of Prophet Mohammed were not outraged or upset, a pupil has confirmed for the first time. A 14-year-old child in the Batley Grammar School lesson also insists the teacher did not predict how some children would tell their parents or foresee how his actions would trigger anger.

The West Yorkshire school sent pupils home early for Easter and suspended the teacher before apologising for his alleged behaviour after parents gathered outside the school for two days of protests. 

Much of the fury around the incident stemmed from claims the teacher had stated to students how his actions would cause anger among some Muslim families. But a pupil among the 20 to 25 youngsters at the religious ethics lesson said the teacher was “respectful” and the lesson continued “totally normally” after the section about blasphemy was discussed and the cartoon shown. 

The child, who is not being named, gave the first account of what actually happened in class by answering questions submitted through one of the child’s parents.

“Neither he nor any of the other teachers in the class were being disrespectful,” they told the Telegraph. “It was a totally normal lesson. The children were warned he was going to show the picture.  They all knew it was going to be there and everybody continued to participate in the lesson and debate normally after it was shown. No one was upset. Neither he nor the other teachers in the class were being disrespectful.”

The family said they believed “one child” had “twisted” what happened in class when talking to his parents later that day. It is understood one of the pupils’ fathers then rang the school demanding an apology for the image, understood to be the Charlie Hebdo cartoon.

It is understood two other teachers participating in that lesson were also suspended because they were allegedly aware the image was going to be shown. However, the academy school has failed to respond to repeated requests to confirm or deny whether they have been suspended.

Nearly 70,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the teacher to be reinstated. 

A counter petition calling for the tutor to be sacked because “he would have known any attempted depiction” of the prophet would have been “unacceptable” has received 28,000 signatures.