Christian girl who was placed in Muslim foster homes reunites with family following court ruling

The five-year-old girl who was placed in the care of two Muslim families has been allowed to live with her grandmother following a court ruling.

The child had allegedly been placed with a carer who removed her Christian cross necklace and encouraged her to learn Arabic. It was also reported that one of the carers wears a burka when she is out with the child in public.

On Tuesday, a Muslim judge has ruled that it would be in the child's best interest to live with a family member who could meet her needs in "in terms of ethnicity, culture and religion," Telegraph reported.

Judge Khatun Sapnara ordered Tower Hamlets council in East London to launch an investigation into the case, saying it had raised "very concerning" matters of "legitimate public interest."

The girl was reportedly forbidden by one of her previous carers to eat her favorite food, carbonara, because it contained bacon. A social services worker had described the girl as being "very distressed," and she reportedly begged not to return to the foster home because "they don't speak English."

The council, however, disputed the claim that the family spoke no English and said that the family was of mixed race. However, the council was "legally restricted" from discussing them further.

The attorney for the local authority told the court that there had been no white British foster carers available when the girl first became the responsibility of the council.

A spokesman had stated that the council had "always been working towards the child being looked after by a family member and will continue to do so."

The girl will continue to have regular visits with her mother under the supervision of the council staff until final arrangements regarding her care can be made.

Councils are required to consider a child's "religious persuasion, racial origin and cultural and linguistic background" when it comes to foster care.

The Tower Hamlets council had previously received a warning from Ofsted earlier this year for failing to consider the history, ethnicity and culture of children before placing them into foster homes.

An Ofsted report released in April this year has criticized the social services in Tower Hamlets after an inspection in January and February found that there were "widespread and serious failures in the services provided to children."

"Overall, the timeliness of assessments has improved from a low base. However, the assessment quality is poor, risk is not rigorously analysed, and there is insufficient consideration of children's historical information and their ethnic and cultural needs," the report stated, according to The Sun.

"The voice of the child and that of parents are evident in the majority of assessments, but direct work with children to understand their lived experiences is weak," it added.