Investigation finds evidence of Muslim fundamentalists controlling some British schools

LONDON – A British government investigation has found evidence that Muslim fundamentalists successfully gained control of some schools to promote aggressive religious values.

The report published Tuesday said some young people in schools in Birmingham, Britain's second-largest city, were encouraged to "adopt an unquestioning attitude to a particular hard-line strand of Sunni Islam."

It also criticized Birmingham City Council for failing to alert authorities of practices that made teachers worry pupils were learning to be intolerant of diversity. Investigators did not find any evidence of violent extremism.

The investigation followed an anonymous letter that triggered several inquiries, one of which found "a culture of fear and intimidation" in some of the city's schools.

The plan was put in motion by conservative Muslims active in the school system.