An autistic high schooler in year 10 at Kettlethorpe High School in Wakefield, UK received a slew of death threats and threats of physical harm after an incident where a Quran was ‘disrespected’ and slightly marred last Wednesday.
The mother of one of four boys suspended after ‘accidentally’ dropping a copy of the Quran says he has been left ‘absolutely petrified’ after receiving death threats.
At a subsequent meeting at the local mosque called to address the incident, the boy’s mother pleaded her son’s remorse to the assembled congregation.
The meeting, called to review the facts of the incident and put the local Muslim community at ease, took place at Jamia Masjid Swafia, a local mosque in Wakefield.
She said: ‘He didn’t have any malicious intent, but he’s a very, very silly 14-year-old boy.’
She described his actions as ‘incredibly disrespectful’ but said he was ‘utterly mortified’ and ‘very, very apologetic and very remorseful’.
False rumours that the Quran had been burnt or destroyed prompted concern among Muslim parents and community leaders, who discussed the incident with police and the headmaster at a hastily arranged meeting at the local mosque.
The mother added that her son sometimes found it difficult to understand social situations.
Headmaster Tudor Griffiths said: ‘We would like to reassure all our community that the holy book remains fully intact and that our initial enquiries indicate there was no malicious intent by those involved.
‘However, we have made it very clear that their actions did not treat the Quran with the respect it should have, so those involved have been suspended and we will be working with them to ensure they understand why their actions were unacceptable.’
The Year 10 boy, who is 14 and autistic, was told by friends to bring in a copy of the holy book as a forfeit for losing at the video game Call Of Duty.
It was then reportedly dropped, causing some damage and scuffing to the pages.
All four pupils involved in the incident at the West Yorkshire school were suspended and the police informed, according to DailyMail.
Officers investigating the incident found there had been only ‘minor damage’ to the Quran during the prank and that no crime had been committed.
It was recorded as a ‘non-crime hate incident’, a designation the police use to record incidents that don’t meet the criminal threshold.
