Kids pausing their football so a friend can pray; theology chats over lunch – I’ve seen the richness that religious diversity brings to school life

A Muslim student at Michaela community school in Brent, north-west London, has lost a high court challenge to the school’s ban on prayer rituals. As a Muslim secondary schoolteacher, I have to say I am disappointed – but not surprised.

The appeal was lost on the grounds that the school declares itself secular. This is something the headteacher, Katharine Birbalsingh, insists all students and parents know when applying. In the written judgment dismissing the student’s case, Mr Justice Linden went as far as to say that: “The claimant at the very least impliedly accepted, when she enrolled at the school, that she would be subject to restrictions on her ability to manifest her religion.”

Nadeine Asbali is a secondary school teacher in London and the author of Veiled Threat: On Being Visibly Muslim in Britain

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A class about free speech was cynically exploited by activists to incite fury in a local community

Three years ago, on 25 March 2021, a teacher from Batley Grammar School (BGS) in West Yorkshire was forced into hiding after a religious studies class he gave led to protests from Muslim parents and to death threats . Today, that incident has been largely forgotten. Except by the teacher. He can’t forget it because, extraordinarily, he and his family are still in hiding. Equally extraordinarily, little is said about this.

The debate about the events at BGS, like many about Islam, blasphemy and offence, has been framed by two polarised arguments. Many on the reactionary right (and not just the reactionary right) view such confrontations as the unacceptable price of mass immigration and the inevitable product of a Muslim presence in western societies. Many liberals and radicals, on the other hand, think it morally wrong to cause offence, believing that for diverse societies to function, there is a need to self-censor so as not to disrespect different cultures and beliefs. Neither argument bears much scrutiny. The most comprehensive account of the events at BGS comes in a review published last week by Sara Khan , the government’s independent adviser on “social cohesion and resilience”. The lesson that sparked the controversy was designed, ironically, to explore issues of blasphemy and free speech, and of appropriate ways of responding to religious disagreements.

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Whether something is racist or homophobic, or threatens parliamentary democracy, should be obvious without government labelling

How do you define extremism? That depends on whether you want a definition with which most people can agree, or one that is meaningful. A definition acceptable to most people must necessarily be broad and bland. One that has more meaning will inevitably be controversial and contested.

And therein lies one of Michael Gove’s problems in his new definition of extremism . Such a definition is either unnecessary or it creates the very problems it is supposed to solve.

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Group’s annual report notes rise in anti-migrant activism and asks if Tory voters are ‘falling out of love with democracy’

British voters are restless, angry and demoralised and more than half of them are pessimistic about the future, according to polling that a counter-extremism organisation has said shows warning signs of future unrest.

More than one in four respondents (43%) described the UK as “declining”, just 6% agreed that the political system was working well and 79% said politicians “don’t listen to people like me”.

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Members of Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group raise concerns over Michael Gove not restarting body that last met in 2020

The government’s Anti-Muslim Hatred Working Group (AMHWG) has been “on pause” for more than four years, despite repeated promises from officials and a sharp rise in hate crime.

The Guardian understands members of the AMHWG last officially met in January 2020, before all working groups were adjourned months later because of the pandemic.

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The communities secretary wants ‘trailblazer’ government departments to pilot a scheme to ban individuals and groups deemed extremist from public life

Michael Gove is set to announce a controversial plan this week to ban individuals and groups who “undermine the UK’s system of liberal democracy” from public life, despite fears inside government that the scheme is at risk of a legal challenge, leaked documents reveal.

Officials working for Gove, the secretary of state for the levelling up, housing and communities, have drawn up plans for “trailblazer” departments to pilot the scheme, according to documents that have been circulated to the Home Office and Downing Street and seen by the Observer .

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Exclusive: Joint statement before conference on community cohesion calls for policies to ‘restitch’ society

UK politics must learn to “disagree well” or risk a descent into toxic, US-style culture wars, three influential thinktanks with links to the Conservatives and Labour have warned in a joint statement.

Before a conference on Friday focusing on community cohesion, the Onward, Labour Together and Create Streets thinktanks said that as well as promoting political accord, there was a need to tackle crumbling towns and wider urban decay to fix fraying social bonds.

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Majority thought Britain a good place for opportunities and freedom to practise their faith, poll also found

Most British Muslims believe more should be done to improve relations between the UK’s different religious communities, according to a research forum on faith.

The Institute for the Impact of Faith in Life (IIFL) looked at the attitudes and social contributions of British Muslims living in the UK.

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The prime minister’s address on Friday was a masterclass in gaslighting and made a new art form of rank hypocrisy

• Caroline Lucas is the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion

“We must face down the extremists who would tear us apart,” Sunak declared to the country on Friday evening. And perhaps never were truer words spoken – at least not by this morally bankrupt prime minister, who is rapidly proving to be one of the most dangerously irresponsible leaders this country has ever faced.

I am still in disbelief at the sheer chutzpah of Sunak wheeling out the No 10 lectern and calling on the whole nation to tune in to an emergency address. Because what came next was not the announcement of a major natural disaster or attack. It wasn’t, as we saw from other world leaders that day, a condemnation of open gunfire against starving people trying to reach aid trucks in Gaza, or a statement of solidarity with Russian protesters against Putin. It wasn’t even the calling of an election.

Caroline Lucas is the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion

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