Parents have reacted angrily after it emerged schools in Waltham Forest circulated a survey branded “racist and Islamophobic”.
The survey, circulated to Year 6 pupils who are aged as young as nine, asked how much they trusted the police and people from another race or religion.
It contained questions about their beliefs and contained several statements asking pupils about the strength of their feelings and how far they might go to defend their religion.
They include: “Religious books are to be understood word for word”, “I believe my religion is the only correct one”, “God has a purpose for me” and “I would do what a grown up told me to do even if it seemed odd to me”.
The project’s original web page, which the Daily Telegraph said been edited in the last few days, originally said its purpose, was “to identify the initial seeds of radicalisation with children of primary school age” where appropriate.
It said: “The consequences of social exclusion, radicalisation and violent extremism are far reaching and are apparent in today’s society in many forms.”
But Massoud Shadjareh, chair of the Islamic Human Rights Commission, said the questionnaire was “clearly racist and Islamophobic” and accused the local council of trying to profile Muslim children.
Waltham Forest council denied the anonymous questionnaire was “directed at pupils of any particular faith” and said it was “completely voluntary” to primary schools.
In a statement, councillors Mark Rusling and Liaquat Ali said: “The Building Resilience through Integration & Trust project is a Council programme that works with primary school pupils and their families to develop community cohesion.
“The feedback received so far about the programme from local primary schools has been positive with more wanting to take part in the programme.
“We’re glad that this has sparked a debate as our aim is to encourage people to talk about the importance of cohesion at all ages.”
