Thursday, February 08, 2007

Another Case for the Charity Commission

There seems to be a right rucus brewing over the charitable status of the King Fahd Academy. Donal Blaney has MORE.

UPDATE: 7.50pm Paul Goodman MP has made a formal complaint to the Charity Commission. Here's the text of his letter...

I’m writing to make a formal complaint about the King Fahd Academy in London. I gather that the academy has charitable status.

You may be aware that the school apparently uses textbooks that describe Christians as “pigs” and Jews as “monkeys”, and that Jim Knight, the Schools Minister, is reported to have ordered an official investigation into the academy’s use of the textbooks.

The Charity Commission’s guidelines in relation generally to “Complaints about Charities” and in particular to “What complaints will the Commission take up?” state under section 6 that –
“Complaints that the Commission will take up as regulator are, generally speaking, ones where there is a serious risk of significant harm or abuse to the charity, its assets, beneficiaries or reputation; where the use of our powers of intervention is necessary to protect them; and where this represents a proportionate response to the issues in the case”.
Furthermore, section 8 states that –
“By "harm" we mean:
*serious detriment to the people or causes the charity
serves;
* loss or misuse of significant assets or resources;
and
* serious damage to the reputation of a charity or charities
generally.”
I contend that the use of these textbooks by the King Fahd Academy causes serious damage to the reputation of a charity and charities generally.

70 comments:

Anonymous said...

This does seem bizarre, when many schools had their shelves cleared of 'Janet and John' type books as they didn't reflect current society. I am all in favour of having school books that reflect diversity [I don't like it when people refer to such an approach as 'PC gone mad'].

But to remove perfectly good 'Blyton' or 'Ladybird' books, but not replace them with anything seems to fly in the face of the approach being applied for this 'academy'.

I am starting to think that we need a separation between 'church' and 'state', rather like the americans.

Anonymous said...

That Policy Xchange needs to have its charity status checked.

Anonymous said...

I can't imagine that there will be any action against this Saudi school - it might damage our national interest, or reduce our capacity in the war against terrorism...

Old BE said...

Can OFSTED take away its school licence?

Anonymous said...

The Charity Commission has the teeth but not the stomach for prosecuting "it own."

Crossland said...

with regard to yourself and Policy exchange.

I dont personally have a problem with you havng a conservative agenda ( your pretty up front abot that after all) but hypocrisy I do have a problem with.

its your own cred after all.

Why not just be quiet about issues that you yourself are vulnerable on ?

Anonymous said...

raucus

Crossland said...

Sorry the bit I missed of the last post was that in your review of Blunketts diaries (id pretty much agree with your review by the way)
you make the point that people who publish diaries shouldnt keep out stuff because it embarasses them.

As this is "Iain dales Diary" then i think your in danger of breathtaking hypocrisy for not coming clean about your relationship with Nick boles and policy exchange when attacking the smith institute .And Ken Livingstone.

Heading this column "Another case for the Charity comission" is guilding the lily somewhat.

Ive always thought you a credible pundit worth reading, an this may still be true but your not doing yourself or our cause any favours at the moment

Guido 2.0 said...

Iain, you are being awfully cheeky.

Anonymous said...

Hmmm... Can anyone imagine the reaction of various Moslem `spokesmen' if a book used in Christian or Jewish schools referred to Moslems in this way? Angry demonstrations, endless statements on TV and Radio and articles in certain newspapers about how dreadful the majority culture is in this country.

gadfly said...

Sorry that this comment does not relate to the topic of this posting.

Surfing the Internet from a hotel in Stockbridge, I noticed that your blogsite, Guido's and a few others (including mine) are ranked as "site containing high porn content" by
SurfontheSafeside.com, and cannot be viewed by subscribers to this content filtering service, which advertises itself: "When you subscribe to SurfontheSafeside.com all your internet browsing passes through our computers first. Each page is checked against a constantly updated list of blacklisted internet sites".

Is this acceptable?

Anonymous said...

I am starting to think that we need a separation between 'church' and 'state', rather like the americans.

They don't have such a separation - France does but not the USA.

Then you'll have to expel Theology students from University and face lawsuits from Muslims forced to leave State Schools.

Why not simply dissolve The State ? Isn't it supposed to wither away ?

Anonymous said...

Argh, the nutters are back. Somebody call the care in the community nurses.

Iain, you really don't need to tolerate morons with "IAIN DALE IS A LIAR" as their avatar. It is frightfully tedious for the rest of us.

Tim Ireland, plus what is probably also one of Tim Ireland's numerous alter-egos the brand new account 'Crossland', are polluting threads with their insane rantings about how you shouldn't be able, as a Tory, to criticise Red Ken, because you know somebody who might want to be Tory candidate for Mayor.

By the logic of this nutter, pretty much all criticism of politicians would be banned. So Ed Balls would banned from criticising David Cameron because he knows Gordon Brown, who will be his opponent.

Some policing of the nutcases would be welcomed, as they really spoil the site.

Bob Piper said...

Without any sense of irony anonymous says: "Some policing of the nutcases would be welcomed, as they really spoil the site."

Terrific! You couldn't make the up... could you?

Aaron Murin-Heath said...

Anonymous 2.58pm

Unlike yourself, has Tim shown any interest in hiding behind a guise of anonymity?

I would also suggest, before you call anyone a crazyperson, that you read the accusations levelled at Iain and Nick Boles.

I personally would applaud Iain for allowing so many critical comments to go un-vaporised. He is truly a hero of free-speech.

However, he's still a liar.

:o)

Guido 2.0 said...

Anonymous @ 2:58 PM:

1. But Iain Dale *is* a liar.

2. Iain Dale also complains about anonymous smears about him, but seems perfectly content to publish anonymous smears about Manic without challenge or qualification.

3. Ah, yes... logic. Manic can see how this would present you with some difficulty.

(Waves to Bob. Leaves quietly. Waits for Iain to apologise like a gentleman.)

Anonymous said...

Meanwhile... back on topic, is it legal to incite racial hatred? I - in my innocence - thought we had stopped people from hurling racist abuse somewhile ago.

If I wanted to abuse say, Tim Ireland, it would be on substantive grounds - not because of his race/creed/religion or colour of which I know nothing. Seriously, why can the Saudis get away with publishing and disseminating such vile piffle in this country?

Anonymous said...

Dale is just a classic smear-boy who doesn't like getting smeared back. His comment pages are populated entirely by dribbling old guard-Tory nutters, the sort who used to sit in the front row of Thatcher conferences doing their knitting in SS uniforms screaming "hang them hang them" when ever anyone vaguely non-faschist was mentioned. Later on they became Bill Cash and now inhabit the outer reaches of the blogiverse, exiled there by the Time Lords - only in Messire Iain Dale and his "pals" from the loony tory right in the US can they find a home. Dribble dribble. Off to see if I can invade Poland now or maybe starve some poor people.

Anonymous said...

Tim Ireland is a Brownite , anyone who dares impugn his new master suffers the tim trolling. Too cowardly to admiy you conversion eh Timmy?

Anonymous said...

Can I just say how much I've missed Verity since his last rant more than 3 hours ago? The Verity is a really genuine lunatic unlike (anon 3:59) the Bill Cash-alikes you mention who are just developmentally stunted.

Looked into the King Fahd academy story in detail - it looks like a typical Torygraph / Mail "get em up and heat em up" job with little factual merit. They found a few sentences in books from the library that are not used in class. Most mainstream schools have a few dodgy books in the library. The Torygraph must be running short but as all the big papers are dying on their feet, it's not that surprising.

Chris Paul said...

Pull charitable status from all independent schools. It's not like top english public schools haven't been filling young heads with tosh for centuries. You only have to look at that rapscallion Cameron for evidence of fuddled and erratic thinking. Are you thinking what I'm thinking? ... Now? ... How about Now? ... And Now?

Guido 2.0 said...

Sorry to burst your spunk-bubble, 'tim 4 Gord'...

Manic has been prefectly clear about this: "Brown is equally compromised by Iraq; his time passed years ago, but he was totally destroyed in the days leading up to the 2005 election, when he was forced to eat Iraq and call it ice-cream."

Thanks for embarrasing yourself. And thank you, Iain, for allowing this oft-repeated smear to pass through (again) without comment.

mutleythedog: FYI, I've been told to f**k off back to my own country... I think that counts. There have also been plently of Tories using sexuality-based smears as their primary weapon. Mental health is another common one. Shall I go on?

Seriously, why can the Tories get away with publishing and disseminating such vile piffle in this country instead of say, tackling any given issue?

Guido 2.0 said...

Curses! Manic slipped out of third-person. He apologises* unreservedly.

(*There... that didn;t hurt, did it?)

Anonymous said...

You're a Brownite bully, who's embarrassing themselves? You're far too devious and compromised to write hosannas to your new beloved Gordon so you resort to attacking his critics. If it walks like a Brownite, talks like a Brownite , then it probably is a wannabe Brownite attack dog. And stop insulting Iain and then exhorting him to stop people from 'smearing' you. It's craven and typical sanctimonious bullying.

Guido 2.0 said...

"stop insulting Iain and then exhorting him to stop people from 'smearing' you"

Ahahahahahahaha!

Iain is a liar. That is a statement of fact. And what did he lie about?

He lied about insulting Manic!

Buy a clue, donut.

Anonymous said...

"Seriously, why can the Tories get away with publishing and disseminating such vile piffle in this country instead of say, tackling any given issue?"

This from Guido & Iain are evil monomaniac troll? And people probably prefer to post in anonymity because they're don't want to end up on some Government database. There's the source of your your conspiracy and paranoia Tim.

Anonymous said...

Tim you're a Brownite thug. Damascene conversion was it?

Anonymous said...

anonimo - 'Janet and John' type books do, in fact, reflect current society. We are 95% indigenous. There is no law that books have to be "representative" of any damn' thing at all. This is political correctness, although there is no such thing as "political correctness gone mad". Political correctness, also known as thought fascism, has always had the goal of a draconian control of the population.

Troll Crossland - Why don't you learn to spell and punctuate before lecturing the blog owner, who writes literate English and is a respected commentator?

There should be no Saudi-funded schools in Britain as they are promoters of the most toxic philosophy endangering the world today.

Anonymous said...

Verity, your views on the Saudis are just typical of political correctness gone mad. "Oh, you can't say this about the Jews or the Christians"...you silly little girl. Why don't you just grow up and leave it to the market, yeah?

Anonymous said...

allan - you silly wee man, what are you talking about? There is no such thing as thought fascism gone mad. It was always intended as a tool of control. I have iterated this opinion further up this thread. Surely you read it before jumping in with such Mighty Mouse eagerness?

I can say anything I like about the Saudis and their toxic philosophy which I do not want to see injected into young, impressionable minds in Britain.

Anyone can say anything they like about the Jews and the Christians; it's comments about those madcap islamics that we are supposed to thought-censor. I refuse.

I do agree, leave it to the market. (Although I don't understand what "leave it to the market, yeah?" means. Is English your first language?)

Little Black Sambo said...

Iain, to judge from the change in character of the comments being posted here (which you mentioned the other day) I believe you and Guido and 18DS are really getting somewhere. Panic is evidently setting in. Congratulations. The end may be near.

Aaron Murin-Heath said...

Little Black Sambo

Iain, to judge from the change in character of the comments being posted here (which you mentioned the other day) I believe you and Guido and 18DS are really getting somewhere. Panic is evidently setting in. Congratulations. The end may be near.

I believe this fallacy is called Post Hoc.

Anonymous said...

Verity - I am too young and impressionable (49) to continue to be exposed to your commentaries. My mummy and daddy are very annoyed with you. I find you so challenging to my sanity that I regard it as an infringement of my human rights and have therefore retained C Booth QC as my brief to sue Iain Dale and yourself for severe mental strain and toxic intellectual pollution.

Little Black Sambo said...

Tyger. Yes you may be right, but I don't think so. If the branches are stirring the wind may be blowing. We'll see.

Anonymous said...

I think that some of the personal attacks on this website expose a level of mental disturbance. Seek help and stay away from this place if it so pains you to read it.

Guido 2.0 said...

1. Tyger, Manic is sure that he's issued this warning before; do not confuse these people with logic.

2. Keep going, Iain. Even if you're not writing this stuff yourself, your treatment of this material is most instructive.

3. Fans of Iain: Please learn to love him like an adult, not a four-year-old. Iain has faults. Your failure to admit to them - and his - shows you to be extremely childish.

4. Little Black Sambo: Yes. Iain's upper-hand explains the speed and ease with which he dealt with my calling him a liar. His reactions to this have been open and honourable throughout.

Anonymous said...

" Fans of Iain: Please learn to love him like an adult, not a four-year-old. Iain has faults. Your failure to admit to them - and his - shows you to be extremely childish."

Tim Ireland is increasingly patronising and pharasiacal these days isn't he? Because people object to your borish, obsessive and monomaniacal fixation with other bloggers Tim it doesn't mean we're in 'love' with Iain or Guido.The immoderation is all yours. And it's kind of dishonest spin to pretend otherwise. You've forgotten how to perceive correctly, take a deep breath and remember Labour ARE in power. The free pass you're giving Gordon is very 'instructive' as you would say.

Anonymous said...

Haven't read comments recently but so many weirdos let out is difficult to stomach at once.

Anyway, the whole concept of a blog seems to pass the labour supporters here by. It is a personal not a collective thing, understand? It is the choice of what you read that is key, not that each one is somehow balanced.

It's no wonder that liberals have left labour to authoritarian thugs like Reid and Brown, just look at their ilk on here and see the same tactics. Sorry Tim Ireland and those who used to be supposedly on the same side but labour are on their own now, the supposed liberal/labour consensus is dead, time for the battle between the authoritarians versus the liberals.

Anonymous said...

"[ Iain] seems perfectly content to publish anonymous smears about Manic without challenge or qualification."

You're not suggesting Iain should delete comments now are you Tim? You think comment deletion is abhorrent don't you?

The Military Wing Of The BBC said...

anonymouse 4.08 said

"Most mainstream schools have a few dodgy books in the library"

you are joking aren't you?
-could you name any of them?

It may have escaped your notice that banning "dodgy" books as you call them, is pretty much the only thing education authories have been interested in for the past 30 years.

Guido 2.0 said...

"without challenge or qualification"

Please try harder.

Anonymous said...

Iain, you've nothing yet on the death of ex-Labour MP Fiona Jones.

This tragic tale is turning into big news and has just been covered on Channel 4 by Jon Snow who showed this page off Jane Griffith's blog and talked of allegations of sexual harrassment by a Cabinet Minister (no, not Prescott)

http://janestheones.blogspot.com/2007/02/she-is-at-peace-now.html

The Military Wing Of The BBC said...

Guido 2.0 said...
Curses! Manic slipped out of third-person. He apologises* unreservedly.

(*There... that didn;t hurt, did it?)

4:24 PM



what on earth are you banging on about?
You need to get out more - give your mum a ring - play in the snow - do anything away from your computer.

Aaron Murin-Heath said...

...what on earth are you banging on about? ~ tone

I think you missed the memo. Have you been off sick?

Anonymous said...

This is a dangerous thread. King Fahd may be called to give evidence personally and all may be revealed. Has anyone ever seen him and Melanie Phillips in the same room at the same time?

Crossland said...

amber waves- I think tim was referring to a percieved double standard .

anonymous-I'm not a troll, but I do have a bad habit of posting without spell checking etc. I will work on this.

I have very little tech knowledge but find it curious that 'anonymous' knows (and is bothered to find out )that my blogger account is brand new.

I can understand why you might think or say that I am a troll but it still does'nt reply to my basic point about hypocrisy.

I dont feel Iain has to reply ,I'm simply leaving comments

Anonymous said...

"I am all in favour of having school books that reflect diversity [I don't like it when people refer to such an approach as 'PC gone mad']."

There's nothing mad about reflecting the diversity of society. What's mad is when the diversity is deliberately exaggerated.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone ever seen King Fahad and Cherie Blair in the same room at the same time?

Anonymous said...

no longer anonymous - Exactly.

In addition, there is absolutely no point in positive discrimination in the workplace so that "diversity" targets can be met. Where would local councils and Human Resources departments be without "diversity" targets? There should be no such duty in our country of 95% indigenous N Europeans.

Funny how the Jews have managed to become prominent in medicine, the law, the arts, the entertainment industry and everything else, without "positive discrimination", isn't it? Maybe it's down to IQ.

Anonymous said...

"Pull charitable status from all independent schools."

Yes, let's shaft some of the world's best schools! Or not.

"Curses! Manic slipped out of third-person. He apologises* unreservedly."

Do you have any idea how weird you sound?

The Hitch said...

anon 8:13
There may be a slight problem calling Fahd as a witness.
He died in 2005

Anonymous said...

you could dig out a bible and pretty much find a ton of really horrible, violent stuff in it.

in any case - isnt the King Fahd academy a private school anyway, funded by the Saudis? (please correct me if i'm wrong on that count...)

Anonymous said...

Love your use of political language Tim, you don't delete comments, you put them in 'context' don't you. In the Al Pacino sense of the word. Is your friend Tom Watson helping with your transition to the dark side?

Rich Tee said...

Anonymous 7:15 said: "The whole concept of a blog seems to pass the labour supporters here by. It is a personal not a collective thing, understand? It is the choice of what you read that is key, not that each one is somehow balanced."

Yes, it is becoming clear to me now how left wingers desire a single authority to tell them the "truth" rather than seeing themselves as individuals exercising free choice amongst different sources.

Anonymous said...

John Trenchard says you could dig out a Bible and find some horrible things in it. Not in the New Testament.

And as far as the Old Testament goes, most Jews, I believe are Reform. Like us, they had their Reformation. The islamics are still mired in the Dark Ages. Until they have a Reformation, they will not get any respect for their backward religion and vicious, cruel philosophy.

The Military Wing Of The BBC said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

The problem is that some on the old left are still stuck on the basic feature of multiculturalism - that a minority culture is intrinsically better than that of the majority.

Strong message follows.

Some parts of various cultures are bad. Burning witches. Burning brides. Hating people of the wrong colour/creed/disability level.

Racism, sexism, homophobia etc. are not inventions of white males, the Trilateral Commision or even Gerorge Bush. They are often present in many cultures.

The concept of tollerence (in the true sense of tollerence - allowing people to live as second class citizens if they keep their heads down doesn't count) is a recent achievement in civilization. It runs counter to the basic tenents of many cultures.


Can you bring yourseleves to say "The Aztecs were murdering scum"?

Oh, and if you are so worried about the Policy Exchange, fearless fighters for the truth, pull your finger out and register a complaint with the Charity Commision. It doesn't cost anything, I believe.

As a New Labour gent put it - "Put up or shut up".

You are getting boring. Particularly since you complain about Guido & Iain, but you haven't *done* anything except whine.

Old BE said...

Is Tim Ireland known for anything outside the blog world? Or is he known because he spams Guido and Iain?

We should be told.

Anonymous said...

Racism is present in every culture I have ever encountered. Everyone thinks that other people aren't as good, as honest, as handsome, as loyal, as brave, etc, as they are. It's tribal and I don't see anything wrong with trusting one's own folk first, because we have been taught to read our fellows almost since birth.

That is why immigrants who have adapted protective colouration do best.

Anonymous said...

The Charity Commission may have some role to play in this school but there are more important issues than its charitable status.

It appears from reports published in the last 5 years to be following a wholly inadequate educational curriculum that is also offensive in the education it offers to female students.

When was this school last inspected? If in 2002 as is suggested then should it have been inspected again in 2006; i f so, where is the report?

Why is there a photograph on its curriculum-uninformative but politically telling website of Blair grinning in an armchair with a couple of robed Arabs smiling back?

A school that has any books within it, let alone text books, describing 'Christians as “pigs” and Jews as “monkeys”' is beyond any kind of reform or eventual acceptance and should be considered for closure at once while investigations are undertaken. Yet it's been going nearly 20 years and only now is it called into question. Who has been protecting it, and why?

Decisions should be immediately and publicly taken.

Anonymous said...

This is such a weird thread that at first I thought it was a gay catfight. But gays are wittier and more incisive and would have provided a few [intentional] laughs by now. What is going on around here?

Anonymous said...

P2 - I agree. This kind of language is so outrageous it takes the breath away.

How can this outfit, so alien to our own regard for religions other than our own (or for those with no religion), still be operating legally?

I'm not Jewish, but this primitive hatred being pumped into children, who absorb everything, is so repellent that everyone connected with this outfit should be arrested.

Anonymous said...

I find it quite depressing; Manic seems to be concerned with nothing but petty insult-trading with Iain Dale and Guido. Whereas those two seem to be publishing real-life political stories, Manic just seems to be attempting to be spiteful.

Manic: why don't you calm down about all this, it really does make you look as though you're about 12 or 13 years old, and someone's stolen your lolly.

To be honest, it would seem like you're being quite hypocritical; you accuse Iain of using anonymous posters to back up his argument (really, he has a life, I suspect) yet it would seem that you do so too - far too many posts are written in practically identical writing style to your own, with exactly mirroring opinions.

Alas.


(PS. This was attempted to be posted on Manic's website. But it's not allowed - who's for freedom of speech people?)

Guido 2.0 said...

CambridgeStudent: You have nbothing to offer but spin, smears and outright lies. There is no record of you making any attempt to submit this or any other comment to Bloggerheads or Guido 2.0

Iain, on the other hand, was a very naughty boy last night...

Proof later.

Anonymous said...

Guido 2 (what an original name)

I couldn't, because I couldn't register. Unlike Iain's site, where I can do what I am currently doing, posting without registering.

Now who's got more freedom?

Anonymous said...

Verity might like to reflect on just how bloody was The Reformation. it was not a salon discussion but accompanied by a Pesanats Revolt 1524-26 and a very bloody suppression - I don't know how many hundred thousand in the "German" principalities died.

You might reflect on the plight of the Hugeunots in France and the St Bartholomew Massacre; the effects of the Thirty Years War

Such a Reformation ,maybe underway in Islam today as we comment - that may be why the US has to fight for 30 years in the Middle East and mobilise another million men to fight in Iran and Pakistan.

Why do you think the current situation is not in fact the "Reformation" ?

Guido 2.0 said...

CambridgeStudent said...
I couldn't, because I couldn't register.

Diddums. Planty of new users have managed this same feat without difficulty.

CambridgeStudent also said...
Unlike Iain's site, where I can do what I am currently doing, posting without registering. Now who's got more freedom?

Before Manic lets anyone publish anything on his main weblog, he requires them to establish their identity (perhaps this was the part of the registration that presented you with difficulty).

And the system that allows you this freedom - when it is abused by the blog owner - restricts the free speech of others.

FOAD

Anonymous said...

You see?

You're getting all spiteful and hateful. Really, calm down.

Also, intrigued to see you haven't responded to ANY of the other parts of my post. If that ain't spin (ignoring the question) well, I don't know what is...

Guido 2.0 said...

CambridgeStudent: All for the rubbish you spouted anonymously has been raised and dealt with before.

But if you do wish to discuss it in detail (again) and get the kind of fair hearing that doesn't exist on certain other websites, all you have to do is drop by.... or FOAD.

Anonymous said...

Voyager - Because I don't see any will for a Reformation, or any acknowledgement that it is critical that they have one.

What I see is the same religious hysteria that gripped them during the Crusades, with no acknowledgement that there is any possibilitiy that allah did not dictate those thoughts personally to an illiterate, sleazy desert dweller.

It is going to be passing difficult for them to have a Reformation because they believe the koran is the direct words of their allah. Therefore, man cannot question or change them. That's the problem with islam. It's a fascist, cult-like belief system.

There are honourable muslims working on a reformation, but it is going to be a long, hard trip and it will not involve the raving, hysterical hordes who show up for demonstrations against Western civilisation.