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British Muslim group publishes recommendations for schools
LONDON, Feb 22(The News): The Muslim Council of Britain on Wednesday called for the country's
schools to accommodate Muslim students who wanted to grow a beard or wear
Islamic clothing, to allow them to better express their religious beliefs.
In a 72-page document published on Wednesday, the MCB, the principal
umbrella organisation representing Muslim groups in Britain, made a series of
recommendations for British government schools.
Some schools "have not
been receptive of legitimate and reasonable requests made by Muslim parents and
pupils in relation to their faith-based aspirations and concerns," the document
read.
In particular, the wishes of Muslims are not taken into account by
government schools in relation to sex education, communal changing rooms, times
of prayer, swimming lessons and halal food, according to the MCB.
The
organisation recommended that schools build prayer rooms, and allow young Muslim
girls to wear the headscarf, or hijab, or a full-length loose skirt, if they
want.
Boys should be allowed to grow beards for religious purposes, and
should not be forced to remove religious amulets, the document recommended.
The British ministry of education distanced itself from the document,
stressing that the text was not "official guidance and is not endorsed by the
government," adding that it will not endorse it.
"We have already
provided schools with a wealth of official guidance which makes clear they
should take into account, and recognise, the needs and cultural diversity of all
their pupils regardless of their background," a spokesman for the ministry said.
The publication of the document coincided with a ruling from London's
High Court on Wednesday which refused permission for the father of a 12-year-old
Muslim girl to challenge a school's ban on her wearing the full-face veil, or
niqab, during lessons.
The man's lawyers had claimed that the ban
breached the girl's human rights to freedom of "thought, conscience and
religion".
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