Indian and Chinese kids doing very well. What’s wrong with the Pakistanis?

The Scottish Government recently published a report on SQA attainment and school leaver qualifications in Scotland. The headline was that ethnic minorities, specifically Asians, were doing better than the national average.

Delving into the figures however, the familiar pattern of the last few years emerged. The figures show that the average tariff scores for Pakistanis and Bengalis read 174 & 182 respectively, whereas the Indians and Chinese reached 198 and 219.

Young Indians and Chinese were indeed doing very well, leaving Pakistanis and Bangladeshis trailing in their wake. For Pakistanis and Bangladeshis, read Muslims.

Read Full Post »

Launch of Unity Family Services

Today saw the launch of Unity Family Services in the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall. It’s a new initiative aiming to tackle family breakdown within the Muslim community.

Its chairman is Sunday Times Rich List member and respected thinker Azeem Ibrahim. It’s on-the-ground operations though are led by Shaykh Amer Jamil who was born and brought up in Glasgow, but has spent the last decade studying Islamic sciences and jurisprudence in the Middle East, with a special interest in family law.

As far as we are concerned at SIF, we would support whatever he turned his hand to on his return to Scotland. We are crying out for more Islamic scholars with both a deep knowledge of their faith and of  society here. That he’s taking on such an important issue, makes our commitment even more imperative.

Read Full Post »