Ex-teacher at Trojan Horse-linked schools avoids classroom ban for calling Christians and Jews ‘ignorant’

Panel rules Wakass Haruf’s comments during playground sermon at Golden Hillock School did not have purpose of promoting extremism

A former teacher at two Birmingham Trojan Horse-linked schools has been spared a classroom ban for telling pupils that Muslims have “the true religion” and Christians and Jews were “ignorant”.

Wakass Haruf was found in January to have brought the teaching profession into “disrepute” following his “inappropriate” comments, which he made to pupils while delivering a playground sermon during Islamic Friday prayers at Golden Hillock School in Sparkhill in 2013.

Mr Haruf was a maths teacher at the former Park View Academy in Alum Rock from 2010 and was seconded to work at Golden Hillock when it was taken over by Park View Educational Trust in 2012.

He was one of 13 teachers from four schools linked to the alleged Trojan Horse plot who are all accused of being part of an agreement to allow an undue amount of religious influence on the education of pupils.

The alleged plot, detailed in a letter penned by one conspirator to another - widely thought to be a hoax - involved a group of hardline Muslims attempting to Islamise non-faith schools.

Three teachers, Jahangir Akbar, Akeel Ahmed and Inamulhaq Anwar have all been handed lifetime teaching bans after being found guilty of professional misconduct by the National College for Teaching & Leadership.

But the Department for Education has ruled Mr Haruf should be spared a ban.

A spokesman said it was “clear that the misconduct proved against Mr Haruf did not have the more serious purpose of promoting extremism”.

The NCTL panel concluded that Mr Haruf was an “outstanding” maths teacher “with much to offer the profession and pupils”.

The panel said Mr Haruf had not received sufficient guidance during his seven-week secondment at Golden Hillock - the period in which he made the “offending remark”.

The panel added: “Exceptionally, this is a case where it would be neither proportionate nor appropriate for a prohibition order to be imposed.”

The panel said Mr Haruf’s comments were not made with the deliberate intention of undermining tolerance and respect for different faiths.

And they said he had already been punished having been the subject of a temporary teaching ban for over a year.

It added: “He has a previous good record and much to contribute to pupils and the profession in the future.

“He has a passion both for teaching and for his subject.

“The panel is satisfied Mr Haruf has learned a salutary lesson from being linked into the wider enquiry related to Park View Trust and the panel is persuaded that the risk of repetition is negligible.”

During the disciplinary hearing the panel heard Mr Haruf was part of a What’s App messaging group called the Park View Brotherhood, which saw teachers sharing “offensive” views including claims the murder of British soldier Lee Rigby was a hoax.

The panel ruled that, despite Mr Haruf posting an “ill-advised and inappropriate” message about the soldier, his activity in the What’s App group was “limited” and there was no evidence he read all the controversial material posted by other members.

The panel described Mr Haruf as a “credible and truthful” witness, while it also cleared him of allegations that he stopped pupils from playing football to make them pray instead.

Mr Haruf was also cleared of encouraging pupils to pray at Park View by broadcasting calls to prayer over a tannoy, putting up posters and sending direct reminders to teachers and prefects.

Park View, which was plunged in to special measures by Ofsted in April 2014 following the emergence of the Trojan Horse allegations, was renamed Rockwood Academy last September and now has a new head teacher and governing body. Ofsted said last December it was on the right path to pull itself out of special measures.

Golden Hillock was taken over by another academy chain in September and is now Ark Boulton. It too has a new principal and governing body.

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