A 29-year-old professor of religions has been suspended in recent days by the administration of his college in Batley, a city with a strong Indo-Pakistani component in the county of Yorkshire (northern England), after parents of pupils expressed their anger, assuring that the teacher had shown in class a caricature of Muhammad published by Charlie hebdo. Friday, March 26, very upset, they continued to demonstrate in front of this college, public and free.
In a country where religious symbols in the public space are not controversial, which has experienced its share of Islamist attacks but where the political class, on the right and on the left, is very concerned to avoid any discourse deemed Islamophobic, this story bothers and astonishes.
The case goes back to the very beginning of the week. On Monday March 22, the professor (his name was not revealed by the national media) would have shown, as part of his course, caricatures of Muhammad. At least that’s the version put forward by a Yorkshire Muslim charity Purpose of Life, which, if we are to believe the Daily Telegraph, turn up the subject. His executive director Sajad Hussain accuses the teacher of “Sadistic behavior” and threatens to cease the association’s collaboration with the school, if it “Is not definitively ruled out”.
Gary Kibble, the principal, tries to calm things down by proving the parents of students in favor. In a letter, extracts of which have been published in the media, he offers “His full and sincere apologies” parents, adds that the images shown to the students are “Completely inappropriate”. The teacher is suspended, pending an internal investigation. To believe the Daily Telegraph, he was also placed under police surveillance.
A “country with a state religion”
The assassination of Samuel Paty, in October 2020, shocked the United Kingdom, but the very firm reaction of the French government and its ardent defense of secularism aroused incomprehension, even sharp criticism across the Channel. In a country where Anglicanism is the state religion, blasphemy has only been considered defamatory since 2008 (in England and Wales) but respect for religions remains the rule.
Yet Education Minister Gavin Williamson reacted unequivocally Thursday night condemning “Threats and intimidation” of which the professor is victim, estimating “Absolutely unacceptable” the protests of parents of pupils in front of the school, and insisting that the teachers “Are allowed to suggest controversial subjects to students.”
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