A teacher at Batley Grammar School is currently under police protection after some enraged Muslims rose against him for showing his pupils cartoons of Prophet Mohammed during a religious lesson on blasphemy.
The school has been shut for the safety of pupils and teachers as angry Muslims stormed the school premises for a second day on Thursday in protest against the teacher.
The teacher (name withheld for his safety), is in his late 20s and lives a short distance from Batley school with his partner.
The school has put pupils on online studies temporarily for their safety. It has also called in private security guards to monitor the protest, while police liaison officers trained to deal with protests and community relations were also at the gates.
The school authorities has also suspended the teacher to placate the Muslim protesters to no avail. The protesters continued to multiply at the school gates and a few of them have been spoken to by the police.
While some of the protesting men are said to be parents, others are believed to be from the nearby local mosques, including from nearby Leeds and Dewsbury.
The protesters claimed the teacher insulted two billion Muslims across the world and deserves to be sacked outright.
Meanwhile, British Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, has condemned the death threats made against the teacher.
He described the protest outside the school as ‘completely unacceptable’.
A Department for Education spokesperson said: ‘It is never acceptable to threaten or intimidate teachers. We encourage dialogue between parents and schools when issues emerge.
‘However, the nature of protest we have seen, including issuing threats and in violation of coronavirus restrictions are completely unacceptable and must be brought to an end.
‘Schools are free to include a full range of issues, ideas and materials in their curriculum, including where they are challenging or controversial, subject to their obligations to ensure political balance.
‘They must balance this with the need to promote respect and tolerance between people of different faiths and beliefs, including in deciding which materials to use in the classroom.’
The school has issued an apology, which was read out loud to the protesting Muslims, but it was met with more anger.
