THEGAYUK

Tag: Muslim

All the latest breaking news on the Muslim community. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on Muslims.

  • Parents are planning another mass protest outside Birmingham school over LGBT+ classes

    Parents from Parkfield Community school are planning a protest outside the school on Thursday over LGBT+ equality classes.

    CREDIT: © tomwang Depositphotos

    Parkfield Community Primary school in Birmingham is to become a protest ground for parents who are against the school’s plans to hold No Outsiders classes – a campaign where the ethos is to promote LGBT+ equality, inclusivity and to question transphobia and homophobia in primary schools.

    In an interview on Facebook live on the ArunRock community page, one community leader said that there was to be a mass protest outside the school on Thursday and told viewers to attend whether they were parents of children at the school or not.

    On Friday last week, around 600 children were removed by their parents from the school in protest of the No Outsiders lesson.

    The school have said that there are no plans to hold these lesson this term – as it focuses on religious studies for the rest of the term.

    A statement from the group reads,

    “The majority of parents at Parkfield are extremely unhappy with the fact that no consultation has taken place on the age appropriateness of the material used to teach their children.

    “As a result of this most parents have signed a letter to the governors calling for the immediate abolition of the “No Outsiders” programme.

    “As parents we have a right over our children & want to make sure we are consulted what is being taught.”

  • School at the centre of LGBT+ lesson protest, says headlines are misleading

    School at the centre of LGBT+ lesson protest, says headlines are misleading

    Parkfield Community school in Birmingham, which has been at the centre of a row over its LGBT+ equality lessons says that headlines about it stopping lessons is “misleading”.

    stevepb / Pixabay

    The school, which was faced with the removal of hundreds of children over plans to introduce LGBT+ relationship and equality lessons, called No Outsider, has said that headlines suggesting it had stopped the lessons was “misleading”. It quoted a headline from The Guardian newspaper.

    In a single Tweet, the school, wrote, “We are concerned this headline is misleading. Parent meetings/ workshops are soon to begin and our no outsiders work continue”.

    https://twitter.com/ParkfieldSchool/status/1102684438583042048

    The tweet echoed a letter sent to the parents of children at the school which said,

    “Up to the end of this term, we will not be delivering any No Outsiders lessons in our long term year curriculum plan, as this half term has already been blocked for religious education (RE).

    “Equality assemblies will continue as normal and our welcoming No Outsiders ethos will be there for all.

    The school has now confirmed that they have put the lessons on hold and will, according to The Guardian, “resume only after a full consultation with every parent”.

    The letter continued,

    “The discussions were a helpful first step and identified the key issues that are concerning parents, including the ethos, the books, the age appropriateness, the lessons and the assemblies. The agreed outcome of the meeting was the need to have a discussion with the school community about the No Outsiders curriculum and how it should be delivered.

    According to The Guardian, around 600 children from predominately Muslim families were removed by their parents from a school in Birmingham on Friday in protest.

    THEGAYUK has reached out for comment from the school, but has not heard back.

     

     

  • School stops LGBT+ lessons after hundreds of parents withdraw their children from classes

    School stops LGBT+ lessons after hundreds of parents withdraw their children from classes

    Around 600 children were removed by their parents from a school in Birmingham on Friday in protest of a lesson that helped children understand about LGBT+ life.

    Wokandapix / Pixabay

    The Parkfield Community primary school in Birmingham has cancelled lessons aiming to teach primary school-aged children about same-sex relationships and gender after the parents of around 600 students at the school withdrew their children in protest.

    The children are thought to be from predominately Muslim families, according to The Guardian.

    The lesson was the brainchild of Andrew Moffat, who was awarded an MBE for his work in LGBT+ equality through the campaign, No Outsiders, where the ethos was to promote LGBT+ equality and to question transphobia and homophobia in primary schools.

    Students were being taught five No Outsiders lessons each school year.

    In a letter to parents, the school said, “Up to the end of this term, we will not be delivering any No Outsiders lessons in our long term year curriculum plan, as this half term has already been blocked for religious education (RE).

    “Equality assemblies will continue as normal and our welcoming No Outsiders ethos will be there for all.

    The school has now confirmed that they have put the lessons on hold and will, according to The Guardian, “resume only after a full consultation with every parent”.

    The letter continued, “The discussions were a helpful first step and identified the key issues that are concerning parents, including the ethos, the books, the age appropriateness, the lessons and the assemblies. The agreed outcome of the meeting was the need to have a discussion with the school community about the No Outsiders curriculum and how it should be delivered.”

    Some parents have argued that their children are “too young” to be learning about same-sex relationships.

    One mother, Fatima Shah said, “We are not a bunch of homophobic mothers. We just feel that some of these lessons are inappropriate. Some of the themes being discussed are very adult and complex and the children are getting confused.

    “They need to be allowed to be children rather than having to constantly think about equalities and rights.”

  • Why has the TSA stopped Queer Eye star Tan France 3 times over the last week?

    Why has the TSA stopped Queer Eye star Tan France 3 times over the last week?

    Queer Eye star Tan France says he’s been stopped by airport security three times this week.

    Queer Eye

    British born Queer Eye star, Tan France says he’s been stopped three times this week by airport security in the US.

    “I’m brown but that does NOT mean I’m a damn security risk”

    When he asked security staff at one airport why he was constantly being pulled over, he was told he was on a watch list.

    https://twitter.com/tanfrance/status/1072958819515289600

    Earlier this week the QE star tweeted, “I’ve been put through extra security checks 3 times this week, and was just told by a TSA agent it’s because my name is on a list,

    “WTF? I’m brown but that does NOT mean I’m a damn security risk!!!”

    Tan was born in the UK, his parents were born in Pakistan. He also identifies as a Muslim.

    “Humiliated”

    He posted to Instagram, “I’ve just gone through security at the airport, it took me over two hours. And this is now the third time this week,”

    “What happens is when you’re checking in, they tell you that you can’t use your pre-check because there’s a security issue.

    “At that point they take you out of line, and then they search you, and they give you a pat down—which is humiliating—where they check everything.”

    “I’m being Profiled”

    Queer Eye

    “so I can tag TSA and hopefully they’ll see this at some point and figure out why the fuck they’re treating me like this.”

    “Because I know the answer. I know why I’m being profiled.”

    The TSA replied with a standard  reply, saying that they were “sorry to hear” of Tan’s experience. They added, “We’re sorry to hear this. DHS TRIP can provide resolution to travelers with difficulties getting through security and inspection at airport checkpoints”.

  • Dating As A Gay Muslim: No fats? No Femmes? No Asians?

    Dating As A Gay Muslim: No fats? No Femmes? No Asians?

    Being a gay Muslim of South-Asian descent I often find some sort of prejudice within the gay community when it comes to dating and hooking up.

    rawpixel / Pixabay

    I noticed it especially when I started using the apps. The apps are great, you can be as specific as you want and really filter down to find what you are looking for. There are also a number of different apps to cater for specific gay communities and labels. They are also a great way of realising how picky you can be when it comes to what you want. A lot of people are open-minded and others are very upfront with their requirements.

    After getting past my initial bombardment of unsolicited photos, I started looking through profiles until I found someone I was interested in. He looked great and the start of his profile was funny. But that’s when I saw it. He specifically stated he didn’t want Asians, wanted the guy to be smooth and wanted him to be slim. All of the things I am not in other words. I was hurt in some way from reading this, but quickly shrugged it off and said to myself that the views of one person shouldn’t make me feel bad. I moved on to the next guy, whose profile was blank, and messaged him. He replied that he wasn’t looking for Asians as well. I took this in one of two ways. He was genuinely not looking for Asians, or using it as an excuse to end the conversation early. Again I shrugged it off, I can’t change my ethnicity so why bother myself with people who are being prejudiced against me. I did find a lot of people who were interested and we had some conversation that either led to something or didn’t. Such is the nature of the apps I found.

    But it got me thinking, is it prejudice or racism. I mean we all have our types, myself included, but I don’t feel the need to implicitly tell people that I don’t want a specific skin colour. I am open-minded, and my main criterion is someone with kind eyes. It sounds funny, but I am drawn to eyes and how they can convey a lot about people. I understand that these guys who put their requirements are doing so to ward off any unwanted attention, and to help them find what they are looking for faster. But is that really the case? I tested this out and put my requirements based on my current mood, and I found a handful of matches. When I saw these select few it made me realise that I didn’t particularly feel drawn to any of them. I went back to my more open requirements and felt instantly better. But that is just how I am, these people who don’t want fats, femmes or Asians know what they want, and that is their choice. It would be easy for me to judge them, but then again should they not be allowed to seek what they want?

    One interaction that really threw me off was when a guy messaged me saying he doesn’t usually go for Asians, but I would be an exception. That is when I genuinely got angry at the comment he made. It implied that I am acceptable even though I am Asian, and that he deems me worthy of his attention. I rightly put him down for that comment and ended the conversation there. He blocked me, which was to be expected, but had he not I would have blocked him and his pointed views out of my life anyway. Other interactions have had people ask me where I was born, as they don’t want people who weren’t born in the UK or don’t speak English without an accent. Again, I have no time for these people. They are trying to cover up their prejudice towards immigrants by making it out that they are just having a normal conversation.

    This isn’t to say I haven’t found people from the apps, as I have had a number of dates. What it is saying is that people shouldn’t feel bad if they find prejudice within the apps. They should ask themselves if they would want to be with someone like that, and if they do then that is fine. But you never know what you might find when you venture out of your preferences. I know I have been surprised and learned more about myself when I have ventured out. So for any profile out there that states ‘no Asians,’ I’m sorry but you are missing out. We are amazing.