British Muslims

Submitted by Iftikhar Ahmad (United Kingdom), Jan 16, 2007 at 18:02

Salaam

According to the Rights of the Child, all children must be allowed to speak their language and practice their own religion and culture. Schools must recognise bilingualism as positive learning resource. Bilingualism should be explicitly valued as a special achievement.The opportunity to use first language will help development in English.Language is a very important symbol of cultural identity and schools should ensure that they value the linguistic diversity.

The National Association of Head teachers has called for schools to teach Urdu and drop French, to reflect the "ethnic mix of the British population.

Bilingual Muslim children need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models. They need to learn standard English to follow the National Curriculum and go for higher studies and research to serve humanity. They need to learn Arabic, Urdu and other community languages to keep in touchjwith their cultural roots and enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry.

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