Prevent Strategy 'Used To Target Young Muslims'

Teachers are to debate calls to boycott the Government's counter-terrorism strategy amid fears it targets young Muslims and makes them vulnerable to attack.

At its annual conference in Brighton this weekend, the National Union of Teachers will vote on a motion calling on the Government to withdraw the Prevent duty from schools and colleges.

The motion states the strategy is being implemented "against a background of increased attacks on the Muslim community and risks being used to target young Muslim people".

Critics of the policy claim there have been too many high-profile cases where pupils were wrongly referred to police for comments made during classroom discussions.

Since last July teachers have been legally obliged to report any suspected extremist behaviour to police as part of the Government's anti-radicalisation strategy.

And a Sky News Freedom of Information request has revealed the number of referrals is increasing month by month.

:: In September 2015 the number of under-18s referred was 133, of whom 43 were recorded as Muslim, and there were 99 under-16s, of whom 29 were Muslim;

:: In October the number of under-18s referred was up to 216, of whom 79 were Muslim, and there were 160 under-16s, of whom 65 were Muslim;

:: And in November the number of under-18s referred reached 378, of whom 117 were Muslim, and the number of under-16s was 298, of whom 95 were Muslim.

Sky News spoke to Rahmaan Mohammadi, who was questioned by anti-terrorism police at home when he was 16 because he wore a "Free Palestine" badge to school.

He has now been invited to speak at the NUT conference.

As well as wearing pro-Palestine badges and wristbands, Rahmaan was in possession of a leaflet advocating Palestinian rights by pressure group Friends of al Aqsa.

He had also asked for permission to fundraise for children affected by the Israeli occupation.

He denies that he is a radical or in danger of being radicalised and insists his concerns for the people of Palestine are purely humanitarian.

In another case, it was revealed in January that a 10-year-old Muslim boy was quizzed by police after he mistakenly wrote that he lived in a "terrorist house" rather than a "terraced house".

And last month, a 15-year-old boy was referred to police after clicking on the UKIP website in the classroom to research immigration.

Defending its action over Rahmaan Mohammadi, Bedfordshire Police told Sky News: "A Prevent officer and Channel officer from our Counter Terrorism Intelligence Unit visited the teenager after receiving a referral regarding concerns that he was at risk of radicalisation.

"The officers spoke to the boy in question and were satisfied that he was not at risk and he was given advice and support.

"We are committed to protecting young people from radicalisation and will always follow up on concerns passed to us to ensure anyone at risk is properly safeguarded from harm."

Mohammed Khaliel, founder of Islamix, an organisation that promotes relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, also works with the police and is a school governor.

He told Sky News: "Prevent isn't perfect but we need something to prevent extremism in schools."

Rejecting the criticism of its policy, a Government spokesman said: "We make no apology for protecting children and young people from the risks of extremism and radicalisation. It's irresponsible to draw attention to such 'sensationalist' cases and undermine the efforts of teachers who use their judgement and act proportionally.

"Prevent is playing a key role in identifying children at risk of radicalisation and supporting schools to intervene."