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An Islamic school has removed 'extremist' books from its library which promoted ISIS and warned against befriending Jews and Christians.

The texts were initially discovered at Jamia Islamia Birmingham at Fallows Road, Sparkbrook, in June during a visit by Ofsted inspectors who delivered a scathing verdict of the independent boys school and lowered its rating from 'Requires Improvement' to 'Inadequate' across the board.

The watchdog's subsequent report described the nature of the books which they deemed to be 'actively undermining fundamental British values'.

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It said: "The school library contains books that promote extremist views and support for an Islamic State. For example, a series of aims set out in one book includes ‘To help the Taliban government in the accomplishment of enforcement of Shari’ah in Afghanistan’ and ‘To struggle for the creation of Islamic states in which the Islamic canons will enforced practically [sic]’.

"On the front page of this book are the words ‘Don’t make the Jews and the Christians your friends’. Other books contain misogynistic messages and condone physical punishment. For example, one book states that ‘…within limits one may use the cane to the necessary extent’ when punishing a child."

School leaders claimed they were unaware of the materials even though they were stamped with the school's name, Ofsted said.

But the regulator has now confirmed the books have been removed after publishing their report from a follow-up inspection in November.

They said: "Leaders have been swift to address the previous concerns at the last inspection in relation to inappropriate materials in the school library.

"The library has been thoroughly checked, and all inappropriate material has been removed. Leaders have introduced a library policy which sets out what should and should not be kept in the school library."

They also confirmed that a programme of pupil events had been planned featuring speakers from different faiths including Hindu and Christian leaders. The books were not the only major concern highlighted in June.

Ofsted criticised 'filthy' and 'damp' school premises, the 'dangerous' school playground 'strewn with debris and rodent traps' and the fact that pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) were excluded - in breach of the Equality Act - because the school claimed it was 'unable to cater' for them.

Further problems highlighted included attendance, behaviour, the 'narrow' curriculum, quality of teaching and the fact that pupils were not allowed to leave the buildings during the day and had to sit on the hall floor during lunch without any activities.

But the watchdog identified numerous improvements during the most recent inspection, even though they concluded that Jamia Islamia was still not meeting all of the independent school standards required. Inspectors noted that the timetable had been changed, subjects on offer had been increased while teachers were receiving extra training.

They also confirmed that the premises had been made 'safe', pupils were now allowed breaks outside, attendance and behaviour were better monitored, and the admissions policy had been changed to accommodate SEND children.

Ofsted complimented the 'positive impact' made by associate headteacher Monsoor Hussain who was appointed in September to support the school two days a week. But they criticised the fact the school's improvement appeared to be 'reliant' on the part-time help.

A statement from Jamia Islamia, responding to the latest Ofsted inspection, said: "We are very pleased with the outcome of our Ofsted visit on 13 November 2019. In our previous standard inspection Ofsted raised a number of concerns they had and identified a large number of standards not met. We quickly put an action plan into place to address these concerns which consisted of a very large number of action plans.

"Ofsted were happy with the action plan produced and their recent visit confirmed that, although there are still some standards not met, we have made a tremendous amount of progress in the last few months and have now met a large majority of them. Ofsted also confirmed that they have no major concerns regarding our school and we are now aiming for getting at least a good judgement in our next Ofsted standard inspection."