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[Wyatt Earp]

My son's latest homework assignment in ECS (which I think is the new name for RE): draw a picture illustrating key episodes in the life of...

... the prophet Muhammad.

With a sensitivity that does him credit, and that he certainly doesn't get from my side of the family, he's genuinely at a loss what to do. He was saying rather worriedly this morning that he'd rather get into trouble than do something that offensive. Poor kid.

What the fuck the school thinks it's doing I have no idea.

[Brandenburger Toro]

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Cultural Sensitivity Fail.

[EIM]

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Perhaps it's a test?

[EIM]

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Get him to scrawl a picture of Buddha and Vishnu playing Mario Kart in the Proph's lounge, with a speech bubble saying "I wish Mo'd hurry up with them Fantas. I'm parched."

[Ginger Yellow]

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Could he not just write a short piece explaining the roots of his problem? In any sane world, that would get higher marks than actually fulfilling the request.

[Erskine Bridges]

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Draw a mountain. With legs. Piece of piss.

Probably best not to actually depict the prophet, just in case like.

[pebblethefish]

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Get him to copy the cover of The Satanic Verses. Should go down a treat, that.

[Guy Profumo]

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Why on Earth... wrote:

My son's latest homework assignment in ECS (which I think is the new name for RE): draw a picture illustrating key episodes in the life of...

... the prophet Muhammad.

With a sensitivity that does him credit, and that he certainly doesn't get from my side of the family, he's genuinely at a loss what to do. He was saying rather worriedly this morning that he'd rather get into trouble than do something that offensive. Poor kid.

What the fuck the school thinks it's doing I have no idea.

Don't you have some local rag you can dob them in to on this?

[Wyatt Earp]

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Guy Potger wrote:

Don't you have some local rag you can dob them in to on this?

Seems a bit harsh on some poor bloody teacher, to be honest. And while nearly all the local Muslims are Turks and Kurds for whom Islam is something to honour without going too far off the deep end about (a bit like Catholicism for Italians), we do have our share of genuine nutters. Abu Hamza's old mosque is just up the road.

[Guy Profumo]

What's wrong with this picture?

Why on Earth... wrote:

Guy Potger wrote:

Don't you have some local rag you can dob them in to on this?

Seems a bit harsh on some poor bloody teacher, to be honest. And while nearly all the local Muslims are Turks and Kurds for whom Islam is something to honour without going too far off the deep end about (a bit like Catholicism for Italians), we do have our share of genuine nutters. Abu Hamza's old mosque is just up the road.

"Hard on the poor bloody teacher"?

Not really, this character is a fucking moron, and shouldn't be teaching kids.

[Taylor]

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Dobbing in to the local rag would seem to make sense, but you'd just end up with a story like "You're not even allowed to depict the Prophet Mohammed anymore, because they say it offends Muslims! You couldn't make it up!" etc.

A word with the head, maybe?

[Guy Profumo]

What's wrong with this picture?

Taylor wrote:

Dobbing in to the local rag would seem to make sense, but you'd just end up with a story like "You're not even allowed to depict the Prophet Mohammed anymore, because they say it offends Muslims! You couldn't make it up!" etc.

A word with the head, maybe?

Because it is offensive to Muslim beliefs and sensibilities to depict the prophet Muhammed?

And if this ECS is taken seriously, i.e. to rationally discuss and debate religion, this, surely, must have been mentioned at some point it's a complete no-no?

It isn't as if it's like the Danish cartoons, where the artist was trying to make a particularly inept and ham-fisted comment.

Hey! I've got an idea.

Simply ban the teaching of all religion in schools.

[Purves Grundy]

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Ha ha ha. This teacher - she's not just back from an eventful stint teaching in Sudan, is she?

[Incandenza]

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BTW, what does ECS (and RE) stand for?

[Wyatt Earp]

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RE stands for Religious Education. ECS; I dunno, to be honest. I'm guessing Ethical and Cultural Studies. (You have to call it that these days in case you offend a queer. It's political correctness gone mad Stu.)

[Wyatt Earp]

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Anyway, I've had a word with the head of ECS, and she'll raise it with her colleague tomorrow. I'll let you know if we have any of them fatwas.

[Wyatt Earp]

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What's weird is that his worksheet on Muhammad had "(pbuh)" scrupulously inserted after every mention of the dude's name. I mean, make up your minds.

[Bruno]

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I dunno, it's starting to sound like a terrorist plot.

[Amor de Cosmos]

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Without wishing to be flippant — and I agree, as described, it sounds like I really thoughtless project to give to a primary school class — but it could be used as aesthetic opportunity. After all Islamic artists have necessarily avoided pictorialising Muhammad for centuries, mainly by creating expressive calligrams. Something similar might be done using the Latin alphabet.

[ian.64]

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Give the teacher a blank page with an instruction to project any meaning or significance they deem fit upon the space. Since assigning any import or gravity to anything that moves is one of the mainstays of religious thought, imagining Mohammed's holy presence upon a piece of paper should be a piece of piss.

[Wyatt Earp]

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Amor de Cosmos wrote:

... it sounds like I really thoughtless project to give to a primary school class...

Secondary school, it is.

[ian.64]

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and I agree, as described, it sounds like I really thoughtless project to give to a primary school class

Considering that people have been chased down, harrassed or even have their careers harmed for even attempting to give humourous renditions of Mohammed it seems like a thoughtless project for anyone.

[G-Man]

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Without wishing to go all Daily Mail here, but am I reading correctly here that there should be some sort of reaction to the notion of Muslims inadvertently being offended by the teacher's (admittedly quite comical) ignorance, but it is generally considered acceptable when Christians are not being shown the same level of respect for what they regard as holy?

I'm not trying to stir up an argument and I agree that Christians have a deplorable way of over-reacting; I'm just asking a genuine question about cultural sensitivities here.

[Wyatt Earp]

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What do you mean? I don't think my son tramples on Christian sensibilities either. You're mixing him up with me.

I think there is a difference, though, because the Muslim community is beleaguered and because hostility to Islam is routinely used as a proxy for xenophobia and racism. Though I do regard the prohibition on images of the Prophet as rooted in utter silliness.

[pebblethefish]

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Why on Earth... wrote:

What's weird is that his worksheet on Muhammad had "(pbuh)" scrupulously inserted after every mention of the dude's name. I mean, make up your minds.

Pbuh sounds like the sort of thing Homer Simpson would say. What does it mean?