from Voice for Justice UK
VfJUK is pleased to announce that on 11th June Dame Christine Gilbert was appointed as the new Chair of Ofsted, replacing interim chair Sir Hamid Patel. Dame Christine is a former Chief Inspector and author of the independent learning review for Ofsted, and will take up her new appointment on 1st September 2025. She replaces Sir Hamid Patel, who was acting interim chair.
In a globally acknowledged, culturally diverse, but still essentially Christian country, it was always wrong that a devout Muslim, actively promoting compliance with Islam and demonstrably antagonistic towards Jews, should be appointed, even if only interim, as Chair of the body responsible for regulating education throughout the whole of England.
Thank you to all those who signed our petition to Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, protesting the interim appointment of Sir Hamid. Every time you signed, a copy of the petition was sent to the Department for Education, and your voice was heard. You made a difference!
One victory, albeit significant, does not mean the end of the war. Last week we warned of the Government’s efforts to draw up an official definition for ‘Islamaphobia’, which, if accepted, would effectively suppress any and all expression of anything that could be deemed insulting or critical of Muslim faith, practice, or activity, whether social, religious, or legal. This means, if accepted, that accurate and factual reporting of Islamist terrorist attacks would be deemed Islamophobic, as would any mention of Islamist extremism – no matter how well justified.
The Muslim Council of Britain, which has given its vocal support to the work of the new group, says it is working to empower Muslims. But what this means, in effect, is that it is actively seeking to extend Muslim values and influence across the UK. In which connection, it is perhaps apposite to remember that one of the core teachings of Islam (which means ‘submission’) is that Muslims must work to bring about world domination, combined with the suppression (sometimes violent) of non-believers (e.g. https://quran.com/al-baqarah/191-193).
The Islamophobia/Anti-Muslim Hatred Definition Working Group, as the APPG is called, has quietly issued a call for evidence, which is scheduled to close on 20th July. The call would appear to be aimed primarily at Muslim groups, but this does not mean that non-Muslims should not also respond. Indeed, it is vital that Christians too respond and make their voices heard.
As we said last week, ‘The special treatment of Islam, and other interest groups seeking to impose a worldview that runs counter to the traditions and practice of our country, must be resisted. Christianity remains the established faith of the UK … (and) it is not right that we are seeing the increased prioritisation of Muslim culture and belief over British values. It is not right that those who do not share Muslim belief should be intimidated into silence. And, most especially, it is not right that evidence of Muslim involvement in crime and/or terror related incidents, should be ignored or actively suppressed … Those who make their home in our country must subscribe to our values, and uphold our traditions. They must respect our democracy and Christian belief.’
Please respond to the call for evidence today:
https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=EGg0v32c3kOociSi7zm
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