After the brutal killing of a French teacher Samuel Paty by a radical Islamist terrorist, now a UK religious education teacher is fearing for his life after he showed the Charlie Hebdo cartoons of prophet Mohammad in his class.
Protests erupted despite the teacher being suspended and the principal apologising
A religious education teacher at Batley Grammar School in the United Kingdom had reportedly shown a satirical caricature of Prophet Muhammad from French magazine Charlie Hebdo. This triggered a wave of protests outside the school on Thursday. The teacher whose identity has not been disclosed has been suspended. This was followed by an apology by the Principal of the school Gary Kibble who said that the use of the image by the teacher in the class was ‘completely inappropriate. However, the teacher, who had gone into hiding last week fearing for his life, has left Batley.
The teacher is scared for himself and his family and has left Batley
The father of the teacher who is said to be in his 20s is afraid that his son would not be able to return to his job and might even be murdered. “My son keeps breaking down crying and says it’s all over for him”, the teacher’s father was quoted as saying. The teacher is reportedly scared that even his family would not be spared. “He is worried that he and his family are all to be killed. He knows that he’s not going to be able to work or live in Batley. It’s just going to be too dangerous for him and his family”, the father said.
Eventually, they will get my son: father of the teacher
Referring to the murder of French teacher Samuel Paty who was killed for showing the Prophet Muhammad caricature in a class, the Batley teacher’s father is said that his son would be killed eventually. “Look what happened to the teacher in France who was killed for doing the same thing. Eventually, they will get my son and he knows this. His whole world has been turned upside down. He’s devastated and crushed”, said his father. “When he starts speaking, he just breaks down and cries. He’s become an emotional wreck. He feels that everything is broken and to be honest, it’s hard to console him at the moment because that is the truth”, added the father.
The father is blaming the school for the handling of the matter. He told that the school had approved displaying the picture as part of the school curriculum. “The school has thrown my son under a bus. The lesson that he delivered in which the picture of the Prophet Muhammad was shown was part of curriculum, it had been approved by the school. Other teachers have have done exactly the same thing”, the father said. “So why is my son being victimised like this? The school should have come out fighting for him and made it clear to the protestors that if offence was caused, then it was not my son’s fault. It was the school’s policy to show this picture, it wasn’t a individual decision made by him”, the father added.
The father told that CCTV cameras have been installed at his son’s house as groups of men went to his house looking for him. CCTV cameras are reportedly being installed at the father’s house as well considering their safety. Police officers have been visiting the family and giving them advice on how to stay safe. The father said that both the school and his son have tendered full apologies and that the matter should end there.
Last year, French teacher Samuel Paty was killed for allegedly showing Prophet Muhammad cartoon
Last year in October a French teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded after a Muslim girl in his class accused him of showing the caricature of Prophet Muhammad. However, it was revealed after an investigation that the teenage girl has cooked up the whole story to hide her suspension from the class from her father. The girl told her father that Paty had asked Muslim students to leave the classroom saying that he was going to show a caricature of Prophet Muhammad from Charlie Hebdo. Soon after she narrated the cooked up story to her father, he took to social media to launch a campaign against Paty and demanded his sacking. This triggered global outrage and death threat to Paty and 10 days later he was beheaded by an Islamist terrorist.
