Islamist extremists exploited tensions over equality teaching in Birmingham schools to amplify hate against LGBT+ people, a hard hitting report claims. Hizb ut-Tahir and other pro-Islamist organisations allegedly tried to use the dispute, centred on two small primary schools in Sparkhill and Alum Rock, to “promote their belief that Western liberalism was a threat to Islam.” Today’s publication – called Challenging Hateful Extremism – follows a year long probe by the Commission for Countering Extremism, led by Sara Khan. She visited cities across the country, including Birmingham, to gather first hand evidence of the experiences of people on the receiving end of hate and those who seek to challenge it. During her visit to Birmingham she found evidence that the anti-LGBT protests held outside Parkfield and Anderton Park primaries were being stoked by organisations and individuals seeking to foster division.