Police probing reported assaults at religious centres in Glasgow

Feb 15 2011 By Tristan Stewart-Robertson

CHILD assault inquiries have been launched at three city mosques, it has been revealed.

Police are understood to be looking at madrassas - Islamic schools - in the city.

A report on a 49-year-old woman has already been sent to the procurator fiscal, said police.

Nobody from the mosques was available to comment.

Prominent Muslims raised concerns about teaching methods and child safety regimes at mosques and their connected schools.

Scots-born parents are reported to have complained when some teachers recruited from Pakistan used corporal punishment on children.

Ali Khan is chairman of Roshni, a charity focusing on child abuse in ethnic minority communities.

He said: "Corporal punishment is unacceptable in Scotland. It is also unacceptable in Islam, which does not condone the beating of young children.

"Ignorance of the law is no excuse. Organisations must take the time to find out what the rules on child protection are."

Roshni have been working on getting mosques, madrassas and minority faith and other groups to sign up to vetting people who work with children.

Salim Aslam, chairman of the Taleem ul-Islam madrassa in Pollokshields, said all their staff and volunteers had been vetted and they have implemented the same child protection procedures as at any Scottish state school.

He said: "This is a cultural thing, not a religious thing. But it is totally wrong to use corporal punishment. Scottish children and their parents will not put up with it. We believe we should avoid all such extremes at our madrassa because they will only drive children away from our faith."

A spokeswoman for Strathclyde Police said: "Inquiries are continuing and it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."