A 14-year-old autistic student received death threats from Islamists over ‘accidental damage’ to a copy of the Quran at the Kettlethorpe High School in Wakefield city of England.
The incident was discussed at a meeting on February 24, which was held at the local mosque, Jamia Masjid Swafia. It was attended by the teen’s mother, Chief Inspector Andy Thornton, Inspector Glen Costello, Kettlethorpe High School headteacher Tudor Griffiths, and councillor Akef Akbar besides Islamic clerics.
During the meeting, the boy’s mother apologised for her son’s actions and expressed grave concern about the death threats and threats of violence that her son had received.
14 year old boy with autism scuffed a page of a Koran. Senior police officers, head teacher and mother of the boy forced to grovel before assembled mullahs and Muslims fearing an Islamic backlash.
— UK Justice Forum 🇬🇧 Latest Video News Updates! (@Justice_forum) February 27, 2023
This is England in 2023! 😡pic.twitter.com/ZlUEK5NQwH
“He hasn’t eaten since Wednesday afternoon when this occurred because, with his autism, it’s put his anxiety to a level where he is beside himself. He’s very, very sorry…” the woman narrated.
“We have had to call the police. He has received death threats, he has received threats that he will be beaten up if he goes back to school…He’s absolutely petrified, (and) I don’t want anybody to be prosecuted because of the stupidity of my son and his friends,” she emphasised.
During the meeting, a local cleric named Hafiz Muhammad Mateen Anwar and Councilor Akbar downplayed the death threats issued to the autistic student and said that non-Muslims needed to understand that Muslims would never tolerate disrespect of the Quran.
In a bid to whip up discontentment among the Muslim community, councillor Akbar posted images of the supposedly damaged Quran on his Instagram profile.
The incident is said to have occurred while the boy was playing video games with friends, and a bet was made. The winner was supposed to dictate something for the loser to buy or do, and the boy, upon losing, was directed to buy a copy of the Quran.
The autistic boy then took the Islamic book to school where it was passed to another student, who then recited some verses on the school’s tennis court. Reportedly, the Quran was brought inside the classroom but was knocked from the hands of the student carrying it.
On being dropped onto the floor accidentally, the book was supposedly ‘damaged’. The autistic boy, who initially lost the bet and bought the book, picked up the Quran and placed it in his bag. While the book sustained slight damage, the reports of the damage were heavily exaggerated.
Meanwhile, the local police got involved and recorded the incident as a ‘non-criminal hate crime.’ Wakefield Chief Inspector Andy Thornton even sided with Islamic cleric Hafiz Muhammad Mateen Anwar and completely ignored the death threats issued to the autistic student by Islamists.
A police officer who would support punishing an autistic 10-year-old boy for dropping a Quran is precisely the sort of police officer who would ignore the victims of grooming gangs for fear of being called an Islamophobe. https://t.co/4GvL9HI5Fj
— Dr. David Wood (@Acts17David) March 2, 2023
While reacting to the matter, prominent religious critic David Wood said, “A police officer who would support punishing an autistic 10-year-old boy for dropping a Quran is precisely the sort of police officer who would ignore the victims of grooming gangs for fear of being called an Islamophobe.”
The school administration has suspended the autistic student along with 3 other pupils, a move justified by the Department of Education. In a statement, the Department said, “We are aware of the incident that took place at Kettlethorpe High School in Wakefield last week and we are offering support to the school at this time.”
“The school followed standard disciplinary procedures in response to this incident. We will always back headteachers to take the appropriate action required to maintain calm and supportive classroom environments. We will always back headteachers to take the appropriate action required to maintain calm and supportive classroom environments,” it further added.
