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A group of Muslim parents have objected to a four-year-old child coming home from school with a book which tells the story of the lives of a gay couple and their son.

The book, called Daddy's Roommate, includes everyday scenes of the men shaving together in their underwear and resting in bed - scenes the group says are inappropriate for such a young child, regardless of faith.

The parents meet as part of a children's support group in Hounslow and say their only objection is the child's age.

But when interviewed by a BBC Local Democracy Reporter, words like "sin", "corrupt" and "the proper way" slipped into the discussion.

It's an echo of similar arguments which recently led to some Birmingham schools scrapping lessons about homosexuality after weeks of protests from parents who claimed they were promoting homosexual lifestyles.

A spokeswoman for LGBT Muslims slammed the statements as "traditional homophobia dressed up as a faith issue".

(Image: submitted)

It is perhaps a taster for the resistance Government will face as it plans to make relationship education of this sort mandatory in 2020.

To some of the group, all of whom refused to be named or photographed for this article, Daddy’s Roommate borders on indoctrination, teaching a practice they say their religion forbids.

"We need to stop brainwashing our children"

One father compared Daddy’s Roomate to giving a child a book featuring smoking, gun use, or even terrorism.

He said: "The topic today is why the children are being influenced?

"Just for the sake of LGBT rights - the vast majority of people who just want to live a normal life.

"And a normal life is - outside any faith or any religion - normal life is to have a family, husband, wife, children, living in a family, without any influence on the children from an education they don’t need.

"We need to stop brainwashing children."

Although it is not clear how the book ended up in the child's school bag and whether or not it was given to the child by a member of school staff, another mother asked why parents weren’t consulted on whether they wanted their children to receive the book, or learn about homosexuality.

The mother asked why all children were being handed the book, when only a small percentage would grow up to be LGBT.

She said: "Why don’t they designate a special school for children who have gay and lesbian issues?

'I want them to learn the proper way'

"I want them to learn the proper way, and if they do change to be gay or lesbian when they’re older - the normal way of how people have actually come out - we will have to accept that.

"Don’t corrupt a four-year-old, a five-year-old.

"God’s law is Adam and Eve, and that’s how we grew up."

Another mother said she wouldn’t object to the book if it was given to older students, in Year 5 or 6, when they had a better understanding of who they are.

She said: "That’s when they need help, or advice, or the support. At four years old, they don’t know nothing about the feeling, or the help, or know if they are lesbian or gay."

The woman said children today look up everything on their smartphones or computers, and she worried her children would be doing just that.

When asked if it would benefit the child for homosexuality to be normalised before he or she reached puberty, she said no.

'Traditional homophobia dressed up as a faith issue'

Ezra Stripe, a spokesperson for Hidayah, which says it supports and uplifts LGBT Muslims, said it was important for even young children to understand two mothers or two fathers was normal and acceptable.

She said: "I have a five-year-old son and he has two mothers. The children in his class need to be aware that’s a family set up, whether their parents agree with it or not."

She said it was wrong to say books like Daddy’s Roommate wouldn’t encourage children to be gay, because to do so implied there was something wrong with that outcome.

"I don’t think teaching a kid about homosexuality will make them homosexual," she added. "I do think it’s an in-built thing but at the same time more people will realise it at a younger age if they have access to information about it.

"People go through life being miserable and not knowing what’s wrong with them, and they get to their mid-40s and realise they’re gay."

Around 10 per cent of the population are gay or bisexual but only five per cent in the UK are Muslim, Ms Stripe said, making the argument that lessons aren't relevant to most people.

She said: "We still talk about Islam in our classes and consider a religious education as not whole unless it has Islam in it.

"It’s the same argument about racist parents and sexist parents, but school has to teach children to be a functioning member of society.

"It is appropriate in a society that accepts LGBT people that children are taught to do that as well."

Ms Stripe said most interpretations of the Quran do label homosexuality as a sin, but more liberal and modern scholars are finding different interpretations.

'48% of Muslims accept LGBT'

She said in the last survey 48 per cent of UK Muslims accepted LGBT people as members of the community.

For Ms Stripe, the question remains: will British Muslims and other religious and ethnic groups adapt to the UK’s direction, or will they hold fast, and the country lose unity on an issue that is fundamental to the lives of many?

She thinks though in time British Islam will come to embrace LGBT.

Back at the playgroup, one of the mothers pointed out if she had given a toddler the same book 10 or 15 years ago, serious questions would have been asked at school about what they were exposing them to.

She said: "They would have called social services on us … but now it’s OK because the government has said they want to enforce it."

Many would disagree with her views, but her statement reflects just how quickly times - and opinions - have changed.

The front cover of the book states it was published by a programme called No Outsiders.

According to a spokesman for the Department for Education, No Outsiders was developed by the school in question in 2014 to teach about diversity and tolerance and is not considered to be about relationships or sex education.

They said there was no direct link between the No Outsiders programme and the government’s introduction of relationships education in primary schools and relationships and sex education in secondary schools.

When asked about the book, they said: "Britain is a modern, multi-cultural society, built on the foundations of inclusion, diversity and respect for others. Schools play a key part in this, learning to live together is at the heart of education.

"A core part of preparing children for life in modern Britain is ensuring they understand the world in which they are growing up.

"For the first time, we are making relationships education – learning how to treat each other with kindness and consideration – compulsory in all primary schools from 2020. This will provide the building blocks for positive relationship.

"There is no reason why teaching children about the diverse society that we live in and the different types of loving, healthy relationships that exist cannot be done in a way that respects everyone’s views."

'Parents should have been consulted'

The department did say relationships education lessons should be delivered in an age appropriate way and after consultation and dialogue with parents – which the group in Hounslow said did not happen.

When the new lessons come into affect in 2020 parents will have the right to request that their child be withdrawn from sex education, but will not be able to withdraw children from relationships education.

The school that reportedly issued the book could not be reached for comment.

If you are affected by the issues in this report or have a story for our reporter, please email ged.cann@reachplc.com