London Islamic School Shutdown Declared "Government Witch-Hunt"

Recently, London closed down an Islamic academy and tuition center. This is the target of a "government witch-hunt" against British Muslims, said the school, according to rt.com.

The Siddeeq Academy in Whitechapel was a via media for Muslim families, who were searching for ways in which they could teach their children in an "Islamic way". The school gave support for parents who wished to educate their children at home, according to BBC.com.

Last September, its director, Mizanur Rahman, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police's Counter Terrorism Command. Nine men were also rounded up, including radical Islamist preacher Anjem Choudary.

Now it has been forced to shut down with "great sadness". The motivation, though, was not the "lack of business and profit", they said.

"This is a sad end to a very beneficial business, as a result of what can only be described as a government witch-hunt targeting the Muslim community, including completely legal Muslim businesses such as Siddeeq Academy," the college wrote online. Check out its Facebook page.

"No wrong-doing or illegal activity has been found on the part of Siddeeq Academy and there is no legal impediment to our continuing to operate as a tuition center."

On the other hand, the UK authorities said that the college had put up a "hostile environment" that has made it "near impossible" to go on with operations. Tower Hamlets council said that they were concerned that the college had to close down peremptorily. Yet, they affirmed that they had "no responsibility" over the center, mostly because it was private. Tower Hamlets council had expressed its dissent to the Department for Education (DfE).

"The council has reported its concerns about this tuition center to the DfE. As local education authority, Tower Hamlets council has no jurisdiction over non-maintained schools or private tuition centers," the council said.

The DfE on the other hand, confirmed that it was aware of the police probing into the school in October 2013. However, it declined to comment further.

On Wednesday, the South East Counter Terrorism Unit had arrested a 40-year-old man in West Sussex under the Terrorism Act, discovering that there were some related overseas activities. The SECTU said he would be subjected to "normal" investigation, and was not posing any "immediate threat to local communities or anywhere else in the UK."