THE founder of Slough’s first state-funded Muslim-faith school has revealed how he defeated attempts by extremists to infiltrate his school and introduce their aggressive Islamist ethos.

Zafar Ali, chairman of governors at IQRA Slough Islamic Primary School, has spoken publicly for the first time about how Muslim hardliners spent two years trying to takeover his school, then in 'special measures’.

He claims they launched sustained attacks on the school’s multi-faith teaching principles and his own beliefs.

The extremists tried to unsettle parents by delivering offensive leaflets at school gates, Mr Ali said.

He compared the attack to the Trojan Horse plot in Birmingham, where a report uncovered evidence of a 'co-ordinated, deliberate and sustained action to introduce an intolerant and aggressive Islamist ethos into some schools’.

But he said the Wexham Road school – through solidarity in its governors, staff and parents – fought off sustained attacks by refusing to budge on their principles.

Now Iqra, rated 'good’ by Ofsted in 2012, is to become the first Muslim school to host a conference to combat radicalisation.

Full story in this week's Observer