Islamic school was ‘petri dish of terror that tortured pupils’

From The Times

A former pupil at an Islamic religious school in Leicester has told how he and hundreds of other pupils were subjected to Guantanamo Bay-inspired torture and described the school as a “petri dish” for terrorists. Adam — who did not want his full name to be used — described having to squat for long periods with his hands looped under his knees and holding his ears. This, he said, was punishment for not having learnt verses of the Quran correctly. “As ironic as it seems, our teachers would take inspiration from images coming out of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo Bay, specifically stress positions, as they left no marks on our bodies,” he said.

The young man is now in his 20s whose family came from somewhere (my money is on Somalia) in east Africa as refugees; he did not want his full name used for his safety. He attended three different Islamic schools (madrassas)  between the age of 7 and 15; all were in the Leicester area.  The Times will not name them publicly but believes that they are still operating.

The Times refers to the findings of the report by the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) earlier this year about the many thousands of children attending supplimentary faith schools whcih cannot be Ofsted inspected and as such are ripe for abuse. 

Adam described the environment created by these schools as “a petri dish designed for terrorists”. He said that several people he grew up with and who went to these madrassas later went on to join “organisations” in the Middle East and in Africa, and claimed that he and his madrassa classmates would attend weekly sermons given by Abdul Qadir Mumin, left, the founder of Islamic State in Somalia.

“From a young age you are beaten and you get angry very quickly as a result,” he said. “These schools guilt you into thinking you are not living your right life. That’s the first step of radicalisation — the way that I live is wrong and I need to live a right life. It’s all happening within a world that’s hidden. It’s in these communities that are super-conservative and isolated and insular and there’s no one there speaking out. No one there worries that kids are abused or groomed and it’s happening with impunity.”