A plot by Islamic extremists to take control of a group of non-faith schools in Birmingham by “jihad” has been exposed, leading to investigations by the police, the city council and the Department of Education.
Letter
A letter written by an anonymous extremist was leaked to the Birmingham Mail describing the plot named “Operation Trojan”, and outlining a step-by-step guide on how to infiltrate school staff with extremist Muslims. The strategy was to force through plans to turn the schools into academies which are not subject to council rules and eventually to impose extremist Islamic control.
A Muslim head teacher at one of the targeted schools has described how she was driven out by a “dirty tricks campaign” conducted by Islamic extremists whom she described as a “sinister group”. She was one of 12 Birmingham heads regarded by the extremists as “moderate”. The letter leaked to the local paperdiscussed extending the ‘jihad’ operation to cities such as Bradford and Manchester which have rapidly-growing Muslim populations.
"Sinister group"
“People need to know this is a dangerous, well-organised and sinister group who have the capacity to destroy. They are producing fear in society and playing on paranoia. They are extremely powerful,” she said.
“I was involved in a campaign so nasty that, since I lost the headship, I’ve never been able to raise my head above the parapet.
“I was shocked to read this letter after 20 years and I am genuinely scared by it.”
Assemblies
Park View Academy, one of the schools named in the letter as a target, reportedly allowed Muslim extremist preachers in its assemblies.
Governors at the school, whose pupils are almost all Muslim, held an “extended Islamic assembly” for its Year 10 and 11 pupils with the extremist, Sheikh Shady Al Suleiman, who has reportedly called on Allah to ‘destroy the enemies of Islam’ and to ‘prepare us for the jihad’.
One said that the extremist Anwar Al Awlaki (pictured) was repeatedly promoted at school assemblies by a senior teacher.
U.S. government officials say that Anwar, who was killed by a US drone strike in 2011, was a senior Al Qaeda recruiter and was involved in planning terrorist operations for the group.
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