Slough deputy leader reveals she has received death threats

Last week, councillor Sabia Akram, deputy and cabinet member for governance, posted on her page that she was “shocked and saddened” to see the Batley Grammar School teacher and his family received death threats and went into hiding after he showed a picture of the Prophet Muhammed in a religious studies class.

While not defending the teacher’s “disrespectful” actions, Cllr Akram, who is Muslim, said he should be forgiven for his mistake, not lynched or threatened to be killed.

She also called for Muslim leaders to condone the actions of those sending the threats and protesting on the school grounds, disrupting pupils learning.

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On her Facebook post, she wrote: “To the teacher, if you need to leave Batley which I wouldn’t blame you! Come to Slough. We’ll welcome you and your family.”

This sparked anger as some saw this as defending and being sympathetic to the “blasphemous” teacher’s actions of showing a Charlie Hebdo cartoon drawing of the Prophet.

The deputy leader later apologised for “any hurt” her previous posts caused and did not mean to cause “great offence” to anyone nor to undermine the Prophet and his esteem.

Cllr Sabia Akram's apology post

She has now deleted the previous posts and later her Facebook page.

Since then, Cllr Akram revealed to all Slough councillors in an email seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service that she and her family have received death threats and harassment since the post.

Councillors from both Labour and Conservative offered their support to Cllr Akram, condemning the attacks on her as ‘malice’ and ‘not justified’.

A petition on change.org, which has garnered over 1,000 signatures, was set up calling for Cllr Akram to resign as deputy leader for welcoming the controversial teacher to Slough as well as “offering” him and his family to share her house.

The petitioner said, “anyone who disrespects our Prophet (pbuh) has no position in our lives,” adding “I don’t wish to see this evil person as my leader”.

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In the email to councillors, Cllr Akram wrote: “I am a practising Muslim woman, and I am able to defend my religious belief.

“However, what I cannot defend are baseless lies and propaganda being used to tarnish my reputation and the harassment my family are now facing. Those who know me will know [I] love my town and all its communities.”

A socially distanced protest is set to gather in front of the Slough Borough Council building today (Friday, April 9), demanding Cllr Akram to resign as deputy leader for her controversial Facebook posts.

A council spokesperson said they are aware of the protest.

Cllr Akram declined to comment at this time.