From the East London Advertiser and the Daily Mail

MUSLIM pupils as young as eight at an East End school hailed September 11 hijackers as "heroes" and said they wanted to be Islamic bombers when they grew up, a tribunal heard today.
Former Christian teacher Nicholas Kafouris told how he was faced with anti-Semitic and anti-Christian remarks from pupils at Bigland Green Primary School who openly praised the twin tower bombers as "martyrs".

Mr Kafouris, 40, told how one pupil said to him, ‘Don’t touch me, you’re a Christian’, when the teacher accidentally brushed against him with his arm. Others said, ‘We want to be Islamic bombers when we grow up', and 'the Christians and Jews are our enemies, you too because you're a Christian', he added.  Mr Kafouris, who had taught at Bigland Green Primary School, in Tower Hamlets, East London, for 12 years, said there was a change in attitude of pupils at the school - where the majority of pupils are Muslim - after the World Trade Center attacks.

According to the most recent Ofsted report 'almost all' the 465 pupils at the school are from ethnic minorities and a vast proportion do not have English as their first language.  Mr Kafouris, a Greek Cypriot, said pupils told him, 'We hate the Christians' and, 'We hate the Jews', despite his attempts to stop them.

The teacher is now suing his former school, the headteacher, and the assistant head for racial discrimination after they failed to take action about the comments made by pupils to him.

He had filled out a 'Racist Incident Reporting Sheet' but claimed the headteacher Jill Hankey dismissed his concerns. In a statement submitted to the Central London Employment Tribunal he said: 'Miss Hankey proceeded to excuse and justify the pupil's behaviour, conduct and remarks to me as if I had no right to be offended by the child's remarks and conduct. He added: 'I felt the head's behaviour and conduct towards me amounted to direct religious discrimination against me which I considered most offensive.  I was intimidated in the way she spoke to me which indicated, “Don't come back with such issues again”.'

He said: 'In late November and December 2006 a number of unacceptable and blunt racist, anti-Semitic and anti-Christian remarks were being made by various children in Year 4 where I taught, such as, 'We want to be Islamic bombers when we grow up”,  “The twin tower bombers are heroes and martyrs”, “We hate the Jews”, “We hate the Christians”, “The Christians and Jews are our enemies, you too because you're a Christian” - directed to me personally.  'Some children were expressing delight at the death and killing of people of other cultures and religions: In the last week of November 2006 a child was talking about stabbing another child and I told him this was dangerous talk and that a lawyer had recently been stabbed by teenagers; his reply was:, “I'm glad that man died”, 'Why?' I asked. “Because he's a Christian and English and we're Muslim”.'

Mr Kafouris said he again tried to speak to the headteacher about it.  He said: 'The head's response was hostile and offensive again. The very first thing she said to me was: “Oh you again! You're the only teacher that reports these things! Nobody else does!”. 'Four times she repeated: “It's because of your lack of discipline that they're saying these things”.'

His case against Tower Hamlets Borough Council, Miss Hankey, Miss Coleman and Bigland Green School opened today.  Former pupils of the school will give evidence. The case continues and is expected to last for 11 days.

Bigland Green School is yards from the Mosque and Madrassah known by several names including the Darul Ummah Masjid and the Da'watal Islam. It is a big complex in a former  school and has ambitions. According to an article in the Architects magazine Building and Design which I can no longer access unless I subscribe,  architects have been engaged to produce plans for a modern twist on the Islamic tradition for a new Mosque and madrasa on that site.  Never mind the brickwork, what are they teaching?