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School's Out (Along With Swimming, Art, RE...)
Muslim Council of Britain on "un-Islamic activity" in schools
A Muslim community group has published a list of recommendations for changes in British schools to better reflect the needs of Muslim schoolchildren. The list includes recommendations for uniforms for sporting activity (including a "requirement" that girls should wear the headscarf when taking part in games) and a ban on drawing the human figure in art class.
The Muslim Council of Britain paper also recommended that mixed-gender physical education classes, including swimming and dance lessons, should end. It also suggests that while all children should learn about Islam in religious education classes, Muslim parents should be allowed to withdraw their children from lessons discussing Christianity.
The paper is available for download here. Much in the paper is arguably of interest: It is only fair that Halal meals are available for Muslim students, and it makes sense that religious students are allowed to respect fasts demanded by festivals like Ramadan.
However, as David T on Harry's Place and Scott on the Daily Ablution point out, the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) is an inherently conservative association, mistakenly believed by the British government of representing a "moderate" voice. An umbrella organisation of 400 mosques and Islamic groups, the MCB has been courted by the British government and Tony Blair in particular as promoting a moderate, anti-extremist brand of British Islam. Many observers would beg to differ.
Not all - perhaps only few - Muslim girls wear headscarves. Others do not observe the ban on drawing figures. Indeed, this might not even matter: What does matter is when a very conservative group like the MCB's standards are taken as a "moderate" approach, more liberal pupils and their families might find themselves sidelined. One is reminded of the case of a British schoolgirl who took her school to court over the right to wear the full body-covering jilbab: a garment, incidentally, that the MCB recommends girls should be allowed to wear.
The jilbab case raises the bar for what is and isn't acceptable in schools - and what is, and isn't, a sign of dedication to the faith. Schoolteachers at the time worried that a split might develop between students who wore the jilbab and those who preferred a less extreme expression of their religious beliefs.
David T notes that the MCB supplies a list of suggested contacts with the report, including one for the extreme Islamic Foundation, founded by clerical fascist Jamaat-i-Islami. Its bookshop sells text by fanatics bent on shaping the world in the image of their version of Islam.
It's worrying, then, that the illusion of moderation still remains. The Daily Express reports that senior government adviser Professor Tim Brighouse, chief adviser to London schools was to attend the launch of the document. Opposition MPs see Brighouse's presence as evidence of government backing for the MCB's approach.
Tory MP Greg Hands said: “The MCB needs to realise it has to move closer to the rest of the community, not away from it."
The Express reports that other influential Muslim groups criticised the report and the MCB, claiming there has been no discussion in the Muslim community about the recommendations. Another argued a more flexible approach, arguing, "This is not what Islam or Ramadan is about. Ramadan is about training yourself while carrying on with everyday life.”
