Christian teacher 'forced out' after complaining Muslim pupils praised 9/11 hijackers 'as heroes'
By LUCY BALLINGER
Last updated at 1:42 AM on 09th February 2010
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Racism claim: Nicholas Kafouris arriving at the tribunal hearing
A Christian teacher yesterday claimed he was forced out of his job after complaining that Muslim pupils as young as eight hailed the September 11 hijackers as heroes.
Nicholas Kafouris, 52, is suing his former school for racial discrimination.
He told a tribunal that he had to leave his £30,000-a-year post because he would not tolerate the 'racist' and 'anti-Semitic' behaviour of Year 4 pupils.
The predominantly Muslim youngsters openly praised Islamic extremists in class and described the September 11 terrorists as 'heroes and martyrs'.
One pupil said: 'Don't touch me, you're a Christian' when he brushed against him.
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'.
Mr Kafouris, a Greek Cypriot, taught for 12 years at Bigland Green Primary School in Tower Hamlets, East London.
According to Ofsted 'almost all' its 465 pupils are from ethnic minorities and a vast proportion do not speak English as a first language.
The teacher claims racial discrimination by the school, its headmistress and her assistant head after they failed to take action about the comments made by pupils to him.
He said there was a change in attitude of the pupils after the atrocities of September 11, 2001. They told him: 'We hate the Christians' and 'We hate the Jews', despite his attempts to stop them.
Read more: '9/11 bombers are heroes': What Muslim children told Christian teacher 'forced from his job for not tolerating racism' | Mail Online
Muslim bus driver locks passengers aboard as he stops to pray
A Muslim bus driver knelt in the aisle to pray for five minutes leaving bemused and anxious passengers trapped in ther seats.
By Heidi Blake
Published: 11:51AM GMT 08 Feb 2010
The driver pulled over without warning and rolled out a high-visibility jacket as a makeshift prayer mat before removing his shoes, turning to face Mecca and starting to chant in Arabic.
Passengers said they looked on in stunned silence, fearing the driver may be preparing for a terrorist attack on the bus. No one was able to get on or off the vehicle during the five-minute prayer session.
Barack Obama's childhood friends deny he was a Muslim
Gayle Griffiths, 33, complained to Transport for London (TfL) about the incident on the number 24 bus in Gospel Oak, north London, last week.
The mother-of-one from Camden, north west London, who had boarded the bus minutes earlier on her way home from work, said: Everyone was looking round in a mix of shock and amazement.
When he had finished, he just got back up and set off again all without any explanation or apology. It was truly bizarre, ludicrous and aggravating.
We are delayed often enough as it is in London. We live in a multicultural society but there is a time and a place for prayer and the middle of a journey with a busload of passengers is not it.
The NHS administrator added: It even went through my mind that this might be some sort of terrorist attack with the bus blown up because I had heard that suicide bombers prayed before attacks.
Gigi David, 38, a bus driver on the same route, claimed that he was aware of other Muslim drivers who had stopped buses to pray in the past.
"I don't like it and I don't accept it, but they do it," he said.
"They stop the bus and they make people wait while they pray.
"It's not fair on the public - why should they have to wait? If these Muslim drivers want to pray they should do it in their own time."
Ricardo Dinis, 27, who also drives the number 24, said: "It's wrong because it causes delays. I think these drivers should have time for their religion, but when it comes to work he should have waited.'
Muslim bus driver locks passengers aboard as he stops to pray - Telegraph
By LUCY BALLINGER
Last updated at 1:42 AM on 09th February 2010
Add to My Stories
Racism claim: Nicholas Kafouris arriving at the tribunal hearing
A Christian teacher yesterday claimed he was forced out of his job after complaining that Muslim pupils as young as eight hailed the September 11 hijackers as heroes.
Nicholas Kafouris, 52, is suing his former school for racial discrimination.
He told a tribunal that he had to leave his £30,000-a-year post because he would not tolerate the 'racist' and 'anti-Semitic' behaviour of Year 4 pupils.
The predominantly Muslim youngsters openly praised Islamic extremists in class and described the September 11 terrorists as 'heroes and martyrs'.
One pupil said: 'Don't touch me, you're a Christian' when he brushed against him.
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'.
Mr Kafouris, a Greek Cypriot, taught for 12 years at Bigland Green Primary School in Tower Hamlets, East London.
According to Ofsted 'almost all' its 465 pupils are from ethnic minorities and a vast proportion do not speak English as a first language.
The teacher claims racial discrimination by the school, its headmistress and her assistant head after they failed to take action about the comments made by pupils to him.
He said there was a change in attitude of the pupils after the atrocities of September 11, 2001. They told him: 'We hate the Christians' and 'We hate the Jews', despite his attempts to stop them.
Read more: '9/11 bombers are heroes': What Muslim children told Christian teacher 'forced from his job for not tolerating racism' | Mail Online
Muslim bus driver locks passengers aboard as he stops to pray
A Muslim bus driver knelt in the aisle to pray for five minutes leaving bemused and anxious passengers trapped in ther seats.
By Heidi Blake
Published: 11:51AM GMT 08 Feb 2010
The driver pulled over without warning and rolled out a high-visibility jacket as a makeshift prayer mat before removing his shoes, turning to face Mecca and starting to chant in Arabic.
Passengers said they looked on in stunned silence, fearing the driver may be preparing for a terrorist attack on the bus. No one was able to get on or off the vehicle during the five-minute prayer session.
Barack Obama's childhood friends deny he was a Muslim
Gayle Griffiths, 33, complained to Transport for London (TfL) about the incident on the number 24 bus in Gospel Oak, north London, last week.
The mother-of-one from Camden, north west London, who had boarded the bus minutes earlier on her way home from work, said: Everyone was looking round in a mix of shock and amazement.
When he had finished, he just got back up and set off again all without any explanation or apology. It was truly bizarre, ludicrous and aggravating.
We are delayed often enough as it is in London. We live in a multicultural society but there is a time and a place for prayer and the middle of a journey with a busload of passengers is not it.
The NHS administrator added: It even went through my mind that this might be some sort of terrorist attack with the bus blown up because I had heard that suicide bombers prayed before attacks.
Gigi David, 38, a bus driver on the same route, claimed that he was aware of other Muslim drivers who had stopped buses to pray in the past.
"I don't like it and I don't accept it, but they do it," he said.
"They stop the bus and they make people wait while they pray.
"It's not fair on the public - why should they have to wait? If these Muslim drivers want to pray they should do it in their own time."
Ricardo Dinis, 27, who also drives the number 24, said: "It's wrong because it causes delays. I think these drivers should have time for their religion, but when it comes to work he should have waited.'
Muslim bus driver locks passengers aboard as he stops to pray - Telegraph