The Department for Education is to investigate a privately-run religious school in Kirklees.
The madrassah in Dewsbury has been accused of dividing communities by teaching children an extreme form of Islam.
The Tarbiyah Academy, in Boothroyd Lane, teaches 140 primary age children in after-school classes. In addition it runs full-time programmes for over-16s.
Reports said the centre’s founder and head, Mufti Aubair Dudha, had compiled a leaflet which claims Jews are engaged in a global conspiracy and that films, magazines and celebrities are part of a conspiracy whereby young Muslims’ minds are poisoned.
In other leaflets Muslims are warned not to adopt British customs, women are told not to work, all mixed-sex institutions are described as evil and TV is banned.
The revelations are particularly sensitive given Dewsbury’s large Muslim population. Britain’s youngest suicide bomber who blew himself up in Iraq came from the town and Mohammad Sidique Khan was the ringleader of the 7/7 terror attacks.
On Thursday night a police car was parked outside the academy as part of a community reassurance initiative.
Mr Dudha told Sky News: “It saddens me greatly that certain extracts from our publications have been taken and misrepresented to link the Academy with extremism. We fully believe in the importance and need of integration whilst being able to practise our faith.”
No-one was available for comment at the Academy today.
Fiyaz Mughal , director of the community group Faith Matters, which works on issues of integration and cohesion said: “There are numerous issues that this case raises. The fact is that there are certain interpretations of what people may perceive to be their Islamic world vision and which clash with core values and which many of us feel comfortable with such as pluralism, tolerance, understanding and valuing different cultures, faiths and traditions.
“This case also brings to the forefront the fact that issues such as valuing others, tolerance, understanding common values and exposing young children to other views is fundamentally important in making them have a holistic and rounded view of our country and our world.
“What we have seen in the Tarbiyah academy is not a mainstream view of Islam and we need to make that clear. It is one set of views and where references to anti-Semitic material have been made. This is unacceptable.”
The Department for Education said: “These serious allegations are under investigation. While it would be inappropriate to comment on the specific investigations, we are clear that extremism has no place in our society and we are determined to protect children from it.”
