Muslim school in UK bans contact with outsiders

A Muslim school in the northern UK has forbidden its students from mixing with outsiders, Sky News reported Saturday.

Despite its isolationist policies, the boarding school in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire has received a ‘good’ rating from the nation’s school inspection services.

The Institute of Islamic Education is run by a local, strict Muslim sect that enforces Sharia law on pupils. Students are reportedly threatened with expulsion if they mix with children from outside the community.

Pupils are also forbidden from following any media outlets or speaking to the press. Mobile phones, cameras and music players are all prohibited.

Ofsted, the British government agency that monitors education quality, praised the institution in the past and said it “provides a good quality of education and meets its stated aims very well.”

Ofsted officials noted however, that the most recent inspection was held in 2011 and did not pertain to the school’s integration of students into British society.

Since then, they told Sky, the government has introduced stricter policies “which include an emphasis on fundamental British values” as part of the review process.