>>54473>A former headteacher who urged pupils to “recite the Koran” and “wear hijabs outside of school” has been appointed as the chairman of Ofsted.>words words words belowSir Hamid Patel will take up the interim role while a successor for Dame Christine Ryan is found.
This is believed to be the first time a religious school leader has been appointed to the role.
The institution also came under fire for allowing a visit from Sheikh Abdul Rahman al-Sudais, a Saudi Arabian cleric who had called Jewish people “pigs”, praying for God to “terminate” them.
Speaking to The Sunday Times about the visit, Patel said: “The girls wanted to see this guy with 5 million followers. They had seen him on YouTube. He stayed 20 minutes.”
A spokesman for the Campaign Against Antisemitism - a UK-based organisation dedicated to countering and exposing antisemitism - said: “We hope that in his new role, Hamid Patel will adopt a higher degree of scrutiny than he appeared to in his previous occupation.”
“British Jews will understandably be concerned that an individual who invited a man who allegedly described Jews as ‘pigs’ to speak to children will be responsible for assessing the performance of schools.”