A Muslim pupil has lost a legal case against a London school that has a ban on prayers after an earlier controversy over religious observance.
The pupil argued that the prayer ban was an act of discrimination against ethnic minorities and made her feel "alienated from society".
But the prayer ban only applies within the school. There's nothing to stop her praying or following her religious beliefs anywhere else.
When I was at boarding school I was expected to attend two religious services every Sunday, although they meant nothing to me but a waste of 1½ hours.
We occasionally get religious leaflets through our letterbox, and we occasionally get approaches from religious charities, but in general believers (who are numerous in Northern Ireland) keep a low profile and don't try to get us interested.
In fact I have no idea whether any of our immediate neighbours are religious or not, with one exception. The subject just never comes up.
As the school head teacher Katharine Birbalsingh says "A school should be free to do what is right for the pupils it serves. Schools should not be forced by one child and her mother to change its approach simply because they have decided they don't like something."
The school's ethos is secular. The mother, who states that prayer is one of the pillars of Islam, cannot have been unaware of the unavailability of indoor prayers before enrolling her daughter. In my view the judge was right in ruling that the daughter could not be excluded, and equally right that, given the school's rules, there was no discrimination.
ReplyDeleteWhat did disturb me was the mention of intimidation of school staff....reminded me of the poor chap from Batley, still in hiding after three years. Measures against intimidation should be made urgently.
Helen: As you say, her mother must have known about the prayer ban before enrolling her daughter (surely she would have asked if prayer was permitted?). So later contesting the ban is just perverse. Yes, the teacher who is still in hiding due to death threats makes you wonder how some people view Islam. The prophet Muhammad said: Pray to God to be among those who seek living peacefully with others.
DeleteHere’s what I ever understand in these cases. How does an institution stop someone from praying? I offer up a silent prayer all the time and nobody knows the difference.
ReplyDeleteMaybe because it’s Muslim, it has more to do with the timing, kneeling, bowing, etc. and is not really about the actual praying?
(Never not ever)
ReplyDeleteBijoux: As I understand it, the point of Muslim prayers is to keep you continually connected to God. In which case yes, you could do it silently and this challenge to the school rule would be unnecessary.
DeleteI was pleased the judge ruled against the suit.
ReplyDeleteJoanne: Me too. I don't see the need to pray inside the school.
DeleteHow on earth can an atheist have an opinion on prayer??
DeleteHow?
Wow, that's a bit strong, Kylie. That's like saying a pacifist can't have an opinion on nuclear missiles, or a vegetarian can't have an opinion on abattoirs. Surely I can have an opinion on religion just as a believer can have an opinion on atheists like me?
DeleteLet the child pray. What's the damage? It's on her own [lunch] time.
ReplyDeleteEven my father, I don't know how he describes himself - atheist?, didn't stop me from going to Sunday School when I was about twelve or so. I loved the peace, the quiet of the church. The vicar reading us the Bible (I am a sucker for a good story).
In summary? I have no idea what this is about. What point is trying to be made. That frightful headmistress just pours oil on the fire of division of cultural differences instead of trying to be inclusive.
U
Ursula: Well, the head teacher was backed up by the High Court, who clearly agreed that the pupil wasn't being discriminated against. It seems reasonable to me that a school should declare itself to be secular in order to limit religious skirmishes. There's nothing to stop her praying anywhere else, or even praying silently.
Deletethecontemplativecat here. Years ago in our district Christmas music was eliminated too. Not everyone celebrates that, so the district canceled it.
ReplyDeleteContemplative cat: It seems rather extreme to ban Christmas music altogether. Surely people can either attend or not attend as they wish. There are plenty of non-Christians who enjoy celebrating Christmas.
DeleteMary says "I agree, you want to pray, do it at home."
ReplyDeleteMary: Yes, I don't believe God would be offended if you don't pray for a few hours.
DeleteI am not a believer, but I do believe those who are have the right to it. But not the right to demand they be accommodated. Silent prayer should be sufficient. Oh, hi from Minnesota!
ReplyDeleteHi Sandra. Indeed, surely silent prayer is enough to connect with God, if that's your intention.
DeleteI'm no expert on Muslim prayer but I know that the way we do things, the litugy, the ceremony and the timing can all be personally important to an individual in their spiritual practice.
ReplyDeleteTherefore I'm not sure how commenters here can say silent prayer is good enough? Is it your practice? Do you have any experience of Islam?
It's arrogant to assume any of us can have a meaningful opinion on the practice of Islamic prayer.
Having said that, if the child goes to a secular school and that was known to start with, the parent/s knew what they were doing when they enrolled her
Hi Kylie! Well, as Bijoux says "I offer up a silent prayer all the time". No, I have no experience of Islam and no doubt I have all sorts of misconceptions, but nevertheless as an impartial observer, I would assume a silent prayer is as good as a vocal one. But maybe not?
DeleteI can only speak of Christianity and yes, a silent prayer is heard by God in the same way as a spoken one.
DeleteAs the praying person though, there may be a huge difference between silent or spoken or sung prayers. They feel different.
For the purposes of your post we can agree or disagree about discrimination but commenting on the validity of another's style of religious practice is not part of the argument.
Nobody can tell another what kind of worship to offer, it is entirely between us and our source
Kylie: Well, I stand corrected. I shall avoid commenting on religious styles. Though I think the only thing I was commenting on was silent or spoken prayer.
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