The Muslim Council of Britain regards it as a priority that child safeguarding and child protection is placed at the heart of good practices in madrassas and mosques, and that they operate in an Islamic educational setting.
We fully support the work being done by the Mosques and Imam National Advisory Board (MINAB) to achieve high standards of excellence within mosques and madrassas, which includes self-regulation as is the case for all supplementary schools. The Muslim Council of Britain continues to be active in ensuring that madrassa and mosque-based education is universally subject to regular Ofsted inspections and Criminal Records Bureau checks.
Child abuse is a deeply regrettable part of British life that has come to light in all sorts of different settings. As we have seen in recent years, faith groups are not immune from such matters. When and where it does emerge in the Muslim community, we must and will act to root it out and to address its causes with total commitment in collaboration with our affiliate organisations.
The Muslim Council of Britain also welcomes the positive work of the NSPCC’s National Safeguarding Committee for Muslim Children, who have been instrumental in highlighting the need for greater reporting and improved implementation of safeguarding for young people, in Muslim communities, faith and non-faith groups.
Islam does not condone the mistreatment of children in any form and one incident of child abuse is one incident too many. Child safeguarding is of the utmost importance and follows true Islamic teaching and British law.
All communities must work together, remain vigilant and root out bad behaviour wherever it is found.
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