Britain's main religious groups are infuriated by a controversial educational scheme to indoctrinate school children, as young as four, with pro-homosexual ideas.
"Why are we introducing these ideas to such young children?" Tahir Alam, chair of the Education Committee in the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), told Reuters on Wednesday, March 14.
A pilot scheme introducing books dealing with gay issues to children from the ages of four to 11 has been launched in British schools with the backing of the Department for Education.
The 600,000-pound "No Outsiders" project includes teaching fairy stories that encompass same-sex relationships for primary-aged children.
Instead of traditional Cinderella fairytale, one of the books features a prince who turns down three princesses before falling in love with a man.
Others feature two male penguins raising an adopted child and a girl with two space-traveling mothers.
"A lot of parents will be very concerned about the exposure of their children to such books, which are contrary to their religious beliefs and values," said Alam.
Islam considers homosexuality to be clearly sinful.
There are 400,000 Muslim students in the schools of Britain, home to a sizable Muslim minority of nearly 2 million.
The MCB has recently published a 72-page document of guidelines on meeting the needs of Muslim pupils attending state schools in the UK, especially with regard to sex education.
The new plan comes as the government prepares to enforce new Sexual Orientation Regulations that are expected to have an impact on every aspect of life for religious believers.
The controversial regulations will force hoteliers to rent rooms to gay couples and printers will be unable to refuse printing homos magazines or advertisements.
Prominent British Muslims, Christians and Jews had organized joint demonstrations against the new law.
The new educational scheme's officials claim they are only reflecting real life.
"Many, many children in this country have this as part of their everyday experience," Elizabeth Atkinson, director of the project, told BBC radio.
But religious groups say the scheme's intention is to make homosexuality appear normal for young kids.
"The whole project is nothing more than propaganda aimed at primary school children to make them sympathetic to homosexuality," said Stephen Green, director of the religious campaign group Christian Voice.
"This is tantamount to child abuse," he charged.
Green insisted that children aged four and five, who would not really understand what homosexuality is,
were too young to have their minds inoculated with pro-homos ideas.
"Parents should be able to have the peace of mind of knowing that school is a safe place," he told Reuters.
"And to have their children indoctrinated with pro-homosexual propaganda is an abuse of the trust parents place in schools."
Source: IslamOnline
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