A few thoughts on the Batley school Muhammed image controversy. Since the facts are unclear, these are as much about the general issues as the case itself.
1. There is no right not to be offended. This is as true in a classroom as anywhere else. Context matters.
1. There is no right not to be offended. This is as true in a classroom as anywhere else. Context matters.
2. The boundaries of speech are, of course, different in a classroom than in the world outside. One is dealing with minors, building a relationship with them, encouraging them to think, and to think about issues that they may not have, or may not have wanted to.
3. There are no blasphemy laws in Britain and – despite media reports – no prohibition in Islam against depicting Muhammed. It’s a modern taboo in many Sunni strands. In Iran, there are depictions of Muhammed even in a mosque. There are many manuscripts with such depictions.
4. Some claim pupils were shown one of the Danish cartoons depicting Muhammed with a bomb his turban. The problem, such critics say, is racism not blasphemy. Given what happened after the Samuel Patty murder in Paris, we should be wary of taking stories as true.
5. But even if true, it’s not an argument not to have used it in class. Should one play a clip of a Bernard Manning joke, show an anti-Semitic cartoon, discuss a Charlie Hebdo cover? It depends on context.
6. No teacher should be sacked simply for showing offensive material in class. The context matters.
And, finally, since I don’t want to spend all day trapped on Twitter, I will probably ignore most responses to this thread. I have a book to write…
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