The Daily Sigh

Lousy Situation For A Muslim Father

A Muslim father whose three children have been fostered by a Christian family has been told he must not ‘pressure’ the youngsters about Islam during visits.

The unnamed 53-year-old man has two sons and a daughter - all aged under 16 - who have been looked after by a Christian family since 2011.

The second visit was in June 2015 and came after he signed a document - seen by the Manchester Evening News - in which he agreed not to talk about Islam.

The ban has since been softened - but only on condition the man talks of his religion in a ‘non-pressurising way’.

The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, says he is the victim of bigotry. But social services say the children’s wellbeing is their ‘prime concern’.

The youngsters were taken into care after the death of their mother.

Before her death the father had been estranged from her for several years, after a ‘volatile’ relationship in which both had made allegations about each other and sought custody.

During that period the children spent some time in care and the mother is said to have told the council the children were ‘not Muslim.’

Eventually the woman won the custody battle. But she died shortly afterwards following drug and alcohol abuse.

Since the mother’s death the father has been trying to get custody of the three children - although they say they would prefer to stay with their foster parents and have said in the past that they don’t wish to see him.

In 2015 the man was finally allowed to see his children - but only after he agreed to strict conditions.

The Manchester Evening News has seen a document from Salford Children’s Services which stipulates that the man ‘agrees not to discuss the Muslim religion’ with his children during any supervised contact.

It goes on to say the children ‘do not have any knowledge or consider themselves as a member of the religion’.

The document also states that he must be accompanied by staff at all times on visits, must not ask the name or location of their school, or the location of their placement.

The father has told the Manchester Evening News he felt forced to sign the document because he was desperate to see his children.

After signing the agreement he met with his children and stuck to the condition preventing him from discussing his faith, but he has not seen them since.

The man works as a teaching assistant and is a graduate. He has been accused of domestic violence and assaulting a social worker - allegations he strenuously denies and has no convictions for.

The man is black, the children are of mixed black and white heritage, and their foster family are white.

He says it is important that his estranged children ‘develop a sense of identity’ - and that he is the victim of prejudice.

“What’s happening is xenophobia and bigotry”, he told the Manchester Evening News. “It’s Stockholm syndrome. It’s parental estrangement. They are obviously feeding all kinds of ridiculous propaganda to my children and this is the end result.”

The man has been to Manchester’s Family Court 13 times in a bid to get his children back. At the latest hearing, it was confirmed that Salford Children’s Services do not see the children as Muslims - although a judge appeared to relax the conditions.

District Judge Relph said: “In the light of the court’s finding as to the children’s previous upbringing, the local authority has made it clear that it does not propose to treat the children as belonging to the Muslim faith, although the father may supply relevant information to them about his faith or discuss his beliefs with them in a non-pressurising way during future contact.”

Coun Lisa Stone, lead member for children’s and young people’s services in Salford, said: “We try very hard to keep children with their natural parents but our prime concern is children’s safety and wellbeing. The public would want us to make sure this must always come first.

“If we have serious concerns about risks to the children, we put our concerns before the court. The court takes a thorough and independent look at the council’s concerns and the family circumstances, including any risks of violence, abuse or emotional harm to the children. The court then decides if a care order is required or not.

“We understand the distress of the father but he has had access to the courts on numerous occasions which have upheld the plans of the local authority.

"This case has been before the Local Government Ombudsman who found no fault with the council’s actions.”

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Sigh.

I kinda feel like this could've been avoided...