MPs urge inquiry after council placed Christian girl with Muslim foster carers

MPs have demanded an urgent review of a case of a Christian foster child who was "forced" to live with a non-English speaking Muslim family in east London.

The five-year-old girl was "taken from her family and forced to live with a niqab-wearing foster carer in a home where she was allegedly encouraged to learn Arabic", The Times reports, citing a confidential council report.

The children's rights watchdog is investigating the placement, including reports that the girl was left distressed after being housed in two different Muslim homes, The Guardian says. The girl reportedly told her mother after the placement that "Christmas is stupid", the Daily Telegraph says.

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Some on social media questioned the logic of placing a child with a non-English speaking family, while others wondered if there would be an uproar if a Muslim child were placed in a non-Arabic speaking home.

Miqdaad Versi, the assistant secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, criticised The Times report, calling it "appalling hypocrisy".

The east London council has opposed attempts to place the child into the temporary care of her grandmother. The foster placements were made against the wishes of the girl's family, The Times reports.