New ISLAMIC SCHOOL in Newcastle - Please DONATE generously

[Rouz]

A new Islamic School is being set up in Newcastle upon Tyne, as there are no such schools in the North East please donate generously so that this gap in the community can be met.

------------------------------

Since its inception in 2004, Bahr Academy has been working extremely hard with local support to raise the standard of education in the
Muslim community in Newcastle upon Tyne, and to date, has had a good measure of success in doing so. The Academy is not state funded
and therefore relies on public generosity to fulfil its educational objectives.

We feel the time is now right for us to build on the success of recent years and to advance into this new building that will become a central
facility for the Muslim community in the North East of England.

The Muslim population has increased rapidly in recent years to approximately 15000 in Newcastle upon Tyne and 30000 in the North East.
There has been a huge demand for a primary school, secondary school and nursery based on Islamic principles. We are in desperate need
of an institution that contributes towards making children better Muslims and responsible members of society. Children in the North East
travel south to places with established institutions in Bury, Bolton, Blackburn, Bradford, Lancaster and Nottingham etc to get an Islamic
education, with the closest institution 125 miles away. Many parents cannot afford to send their children to boarding schools across the
country and desperately need local facilities. Also, as the Mitre is a significant building in Newcastle upon Tyne, it is only right that the
facilities are open to the wider community. This will build bridges between local communities and help with unity and cohesion.

Bahr Academy will be going live on Channel S (814) on 19th August 2011 from 5pm till Fajr Salah to raise £1,100,000 needed for
refurbishment. The building has already been purchased at a cost of £325,000.

Please donate generously.

http://www.bahracademy.co.uk/

http://www.justgiving.com/bahracademy/Donate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESjegHoFBGw

[Iftikhar]

Bilingual Muslims children have a right, as much as any other faith group, to be taught their culture, languages and faith alongside a mainstream curriculum. More faith schools will be opened under sweeping reforms of the education system in England. There is a dire need for the growth of state funded Muslim schools to meet the growing needs and demands of the Muslim parents and children. Now the time has come that parents and community should take over the running of their local schools. Parent-run schools will give the diversity, the choice and the competition that the wealthy have in the private sector. Parents can perform a better job than the Local Authority because parents have a genuine vested interest. The Local Authority simply cannot be trusted.

The British Government is planning to make it easier to schools to “opt out” from the Local Authorities. Muslim children in state schools feel isolated and confused about who they are. This can cause dissatisfaction and lead them into criminality, and the lack of a true understanding of Islam can ultimately make them more susceptible to the teachings of fundamentalists like Christians during the middle ages and Jews in recent times in Palestine. Fundamentalism is nothing to do with Islam and Muslim; you are either a Muslim or a non-Muslim.

There are hundreds of state primary and secondary schools where Muslim pupils are in majority. In my opinion all such schools may be opted out to become Muslim Academies. This mean the Muslim children will get a decent education. Muslim schools turned out balanced citizens, more tolerant of others and less likely to succumb to criminality or extremism. Muslim schools give young people confidence in who they are and an understanding of Islam’s teaching of tolerance and respect which prepares them for a positive and fulfilling role in society. Muslim schools are attractive to Muslim parents because they have better discipline and teaching Islamic values. Children like discipline, structure and boundaries. Bilingual Muslim children need Bilingual Muslim teachers as role models during their developmental periods, who understand their needs and demands.

None of the British Muslims convicted following the riots in Bradford and Oldham in 2001 or any of those linked to the London bombings had been to Islamic schools. An American Think Tank studied the educational back ground of 300 Jihadists; none of them were educated in Pakistani Madrasas. They were all Western educated by non-Muslim teachers. Bilingual Muslim children need bilingual Muslim teachers as role models. A Cambridge University study found that single-sex classes could make a big difference for boys. They perform better in single-sex classes. The research is promising because male students in the study saw noticeable gains in the grades. The study confirms the Islamic notion that academic achievement is better in single-sex classes.
Iftikhar Ahmad