Should Religion Stop LGBT Lessons in School? | This Morning

well we're joined this morning by Shaquille Afsar who is leading the protest outside the school he's here alongside mr. Thompson who says that the demonstration could be very damaging to the LGBT community welcome to both of you and she killers start with you there because we heard Sarah Hewitt culture the head there what she said last night she has said that that no one's knocked on her door to discuss this with her what would you say about that I think our time or when a community's feeling that they have been made to feel that the rest of the communities being intolerant towards them and the fact that we have nearly 250 parents who have wrote several letters we've handed in 200 a 200 page petition we've made numerous attempts to contact the school through dialogue before we started protests so it's it seems a bit unfair that the head teacher is saying that she hasn't consulted because nobody's knocked her door a 600 pupils were withdrew I'm sorry 600 pupils never came to school on Monday because their parents felt that they wanted to protest to show their concerns and I think that in itself is a big referendum to say that there is an issue and you know parents are able to without having religious leaders come we are able to talk and you know and find a way forward you haven't even got kids at school I haven't got children at the school I have a niece and nephew at the school and my involvement mainly and where it prompted me to come forward with that was my sister felt that she wasn't firstly able to get through to the head teacher my niece and nephew are as equal to me as my two daughters and the main reason was my brother-in-law works for a quite reputable accountancy firm and he felt purely because of the discrimination I felt for speaking about how our faiths feel he felt like but are you discriminating against the LGBT community or doing exactly what you're saying is happening to you no I think that is a lot of misconceptions what the parents are saying is we feel that any community where there is LGBT whether it's Muslim whether whether your religious faith that we should be able to live and coexist with one another even if we have different beliefs or view is now example of that I could give you is for example you have a lot of parents in the school who have come from Christian Catholic backgrounds and they morals and their lifestyles are folks around you say you were a tolerant man personally I unfortunately in the media I've been made out to be this this homophobic crazies like you did say let me quote your own words back to you it plants a seed in them yes see does it fly okay so if you give me opportunity to clarify that parents feel that at the primary school age the child is not other age to understand such complex relationships such as LGBT or even that even some heterosexual relationships or even about Islam or religion and stuff and parents feel that in primary school we should be teaching our children about humanity respect for humanity we shouldn't have parents at the school shouldn't feel like the school is over promoting one narrative and not the other and we should try to make it transparent ok well let's bring Melissa in on this because you feel like these protests are incredibly damaging to the LGBT collab solutely I mean first of all I find it really rich that you use words such as tolerance intolerance and discrimination that you are victim that you that you and the people that you speak for are victims of that when you that is exactly what you're doing you're being intolerant and discriminatory towards gay people it's hugely damaging to the LGBT community please let me finish and if you've read any of the literature any of the books that are being introduced to schools to teach children about lots of different types of families then you'll realize it's not a manual on how to be gay a kid isn't gonna read it and go that's how that's how I become gay but it will give children just an appreciation of the Britain that we live in today which is a tolerant Britain and a Britain that celebrates all sorts of people and if you've one of the books is that my is that my daughter's child minder and I'll tell you what my friends that she's my friend's children when they when they realize that my daughter has got two months their reaction isn't one of confusion or disgust they say oh they don't care it's not complex some people have two parents and that's a mum and a dad some people have two dads some people have two mums some have one one parent I mean I wonder whether this sort of education relationship education which by 2020 is coming in that's going to be rolled out across the country and it will include the sex education is that not how we are at in Britain living now that's the reality thinker bringing it back to what Melissa said it's if a group of people feel that their religious moral and their family values are being infringed on so for example if they feel that their children are being sent to home and I've to school and are being taught something that is contradictory to their religious belief now this is the opinion now if they for example we have a parent who is a Christian Catholic and he believes that according to his morals homosexuality is not a morally acceptable relationship to have according to him now also also to his religious faith he's also been taught that he must have discriminate anyone who chooses to do anything different he mustn't judge them he mustn't discriminate against them and we don't discriminate against the LGBT community I am a firm believer that they should be able to live and no no no we're right at time so we've got to get a lot of points in but you are discriminating because what you're doing is you're encouraging your children you as parents you will encourage your children to be less tolerant now eventually those children because thankfully children are much more inclusive nowadays that generation will grow up Belridge they will probably potentially possibly reject your views and you'll you will widen the gap between generations children with all due respect to what you said is that's exactly how the parents are feeling the parents are feeling that the LGBT community has become intolerant towards them and their religious belief because you've asked the question let me just please express because what the parents have been made to look like as if we're some homophobic people we have no tolerance towards differences when we have coexisted with this community myself for 32 years in Birmingham I've never had issues with LGBT people I've never protest in the against LGBT people I think where this is this issue has arisen from is the lack of responsibility of Sarang hue Clarkson a lack of her responsibility to consult people who hold their religious faith very close to their heart and to make them sensitively of rare what's going on and if there were any misconceptions then us the LGBT I'm gonna give you ten seconds you contradict yourself you say that you're you're not I'm afraid you are and you're poisoning children you

Channel: This Morning

Views: 548,971

Keywords: shakil afsar birmingham, shakeel afsar interview, shakeel afsar debate, lgbt debate uk, lgbt debate 2019, lgbt debate this morning, lgbt lessons birmingham, lgbt lessons in schools, lgbt lessons uk, lgbt lessons in school uk, lgbt lessons in school debate, lgbt lessons primary school, lgbt rights, lgbt lessons in school, parkfield community school protest, parkfield community school in birmingham, parkfield community school lgbt

Id: p8EkPgqVbJc

Length: 7min 32sec (452 seconds)

Published: Wed May 22 2019