BIRMINGHAM, England, February 4, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) – A Muslim father in the United Kingdom says he is prepared to go to jail rather than be forced to keep his son in a controversial pro-LGBT sex education program.
Jabar Hussain, 51, is the first parent to face prosecution after keeping his son, Amin, out of school for months rather than allowing him to attend lessons that promoting homosexual and transgender ideology through the “No Outsiders” program.
The “No Outsiders” program received significant media coverage last year when Muslim parents in Birmingham protested against its use to teach their children. The program promotes LGBT lifestyles as normal, with the introduction to the book explaining that “to be a person who is gay or lesbian or transgender or bisexual is normal, acceptable and OK.” Its author, Andrew Moffatt, led the annual homosexual “Pride” march in Birmingham last year.
At the height of the protests, hundreds of parents gathered outside the school, chanting and holding placards. Six hundred Muslim pupils between four and 11 years old were withdrawn from classes.
Some demonstrators reportedly even said they would rather leave the UK than allow their children to continue attending the school.
During one of those protests outside the school last year, Hussain told BirminghamLive, “We are not against anyone expressing their sexuality or being homosexual if that's what they want. We have no issue if Mr Moffat wants to put on a dress, or dance around like a ballet dancer, or put on a skirt, we have no issue. We have an issue with teaching that nonsense to our kids.”
Hussain has stopped his son from attending the Parkfield Primary School in Birmingham since September 2019 but has kept him on the school register in hopes that he will eventually be able to return and complete his education there.
Hussain risks being fined for keeping his child out of school for an extended period and having a parenting order imposed. If he fails to pay the fine, he may be sentenced to a prison term of up to three months.
But Hussain told The Times, “If I have to go to court, I have to go to court. I would go to jail for this.”
Hussain is challenging the prosecution by Birmingham City Council, saying the lessons constitute a “safeguarding risk.” He has instructed lawyers to seek a judicial review if the council persists with the prosecution.
His lawyer, Paul Conrathe of Sinclairs Law, said, “This prosecution criminalizes him for not submitting to teaching in breach of his rights.”
After last year’s protest, an adapted version of the “No Outsiders” program was introduced, entitled “No Outsiders for a Faith Community.” Moffat says the LGBT content has been retained and the lessons have not been “watered down.”
In a recent interview with i News, Moffatt said last year’s protests, rather than stopping the implementation of No Outsiders, had in fact given the program a “national profile.” Moffatt claimed that the media attention resulted in other schools choosing to use it.
Hussain has said he is worried that the lessons will teach things that go against his religion, including “that some children are born in the wrong body.”
“This can cause confusion,” he said. “If my son gets confused about this and about his own body, he might think he is a girl. The school thinks this is OK and has to be accepted, even though transgender can mean medical treatment and surgery which could damage my son mentally and physically for life.”