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The lead protester in the row over LGBT equality teaching has been accused of “inflaming tensions” by inviting a controversial imam who claimed anal sex, paedophilia and transgenderism were being taught in schools to a demonstration.
Shakeel Afsar, who has led a long campaign to halt the lessons, was questioned on the third day of a high court hearing to rule on whether an exclusion zone banning protests around Anderton Park primary school in Birmingham should be made permanent.
Video footage of the largest protest, when more than 300 people, including young children, gathered outside the Sparkhill school, showed the imam Mullah Bahm holding up an image of a gingerbread man with genitals.
Bahm shouted allegations that schools had an anal sex and paedophilia “agenda” and called for mass protests, saying there was a need to show “Muslims are not asleep” on this issue.
Jonathan Manning QC, representing Birmingham city council, highlighted other comments made by the imam, from Batley in West Yorkshire, including his description of Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, the school’s headteacher, as “shatani” (devilish) saying: “That woman needs to be broken.”
The temporary injunction bans Afsar, his sister Rosina Afsar – who had two children at Anderton Park but has since removed them – and Amir Ahmed from coordinating protests outside the school.
During cross-examination, Afsar denied inviting Bahm to the protest, claiming he had never met him. He said he was unaware of Bahm’s intention to make such a controversial speech and did not “endorse it”.
However, the court was later shown a video of Afsar introducing the imam at the protest before holding up the illustration of the gingerbread man and briefly holding the microphone as Bahm spoke.
Manning, who described the protests as “highly confrontational”, asked Afsar if he was aware young children were present at the demonstration on 24 May.
Afsar replied: “I do not endorse what he is saying. I was doing as much as I could to get him off the microphone.” He went on to add that he “did not realise what was on the paper” he held up for the imam.
However, Manning argued that despite Afsar claiming he did not endorse the imam’s views, Bahm went on to speak for a second time, as Afsar again stood alongside, and his fellow organiser and defendant, Ahmed, held the mic. Afsar was then seen clapping as Bahm finished his speech.
During the hearing, Afsar was also accused of inflaming tensions between parents – many of whom do not speak English – and the school.
In an Ofsted report from December 2017, the school was described as having a positive, “understanding” relationship with parents and a culture of care, Manning said.
However, this relationship was “disrupted”, the QC continued, when Afsar and a small number of parents “decided to adopt a wholly confrontational approach that was not conciliatory in the slightest”.
Scrutinising Afsar’s personal Twitter account, Manning asked about a photograph of children allegedly in a classroom being shown images of men dressed in provocative women’s clothing.
Manning said these tweets were “totally irresponsible”, adding: “You are the elected spokesperson of the parents’ group, many of them as you know who don’t speak any English, and you know that suggesting this is being taught in classrooms … is totally irresponsible and designed to do nothing but inflame concerned parents.”
Afsar denied this, saying: “These are just a number of accusations made against me. [The tweet] was nothing to do with Anderton Park school.”
He went on to claim parents had legitimate concerns about books their children were being sent home with that allegedly promoted a transgender lifestyle. That claim was disputed by Manning, who said the school had, on one occasion, “sent a few lines home with a few children from one book”.
The hearing continues.
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