Posted by Zoe Bremer --Previous Message--
on January 14, 2005, 9:52 am, in reply to "Dress Code"
62.6.139.14
The issue here surely is one of sexist behaviour and sex discrimination. Would a boy dress like this or be treated this way (excluding Tuaregs, of course!)
: Established 1981
: London School of Islamics
: An Educational Trust
: 63 Margery Park Road London E7 9LD
: Email:
: info@londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
: www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk
: Tel/Fax: 0208 555 2733 / 07817 112
: 667
:
:
: Dress Code
: A Muslim girl could not attend her
: school for the last two years
: because she could not wear the
: Jilbab banned by her school. Jilbab
: is considered to be a health and
: safety hazard and is likely to lead
: to an unhealthy competition among
: its pupils to dress more
: Islamically. The High Court upheld
: the decision of the school which is
: worrying and objectionable in the
: opinion of the MCB. The ruling is “a
: regrettable limitation of personal
: freedom”, according to the Daily
: Telegraph. The school has 90% Muslim
: girls and a western educated Muslim
: head teacher who had imposed the ban
: to prevent students from falling
: prey to extremist groups. She wanted
: to protect other Muslim pupils from
: fundamentalists. It is a
: multi-cultural and multi-faith
: secular school which is not suitable
: for bilingual Muslim girls. They
: need Muslim community school with
: bilingual Muslim teachers as role
: models. In the opinion of Fiona
: MacTaggert MP, the native teachers
: do not have the linguistic skills or
: relevant social and theological
: know-how to tackle the issues of the
: Muslim pupils in secular state
: schools.
:
: State funded Muslim school with
: Muslim teachers is a proper place
: for Muslim children than a secular
: multi-faith school. The case should
: not have gone to court in the first
: place. The school should have
: tolerated what she wears as long as
: it is the same colour as the school
: uniform and the whole matter should
: have been sorted out as a community
: matter. School has accommodated
: other forms of Islamic dress. Jilbab
: is acceptable in other British
: schools and it is the uniform of
: Feversham College Bradford, the
: first state funded Muslim school.
: The school’s arguments are bogus and
: reminiscent of the arguments that
: used to be put forward prior to 1997
: to prevent Islamic schools from
: gaining state funded status. Respect
: and tolerance of Muslims is
: essential for positive community
: cohesion.
:
: State funded Muslim schools are not
: divisive; they are beacons of
: excellence academically, spiritually
: and morally. They provide a powerful
: structure for students to pursue
: their education. Curriculum infused
: with Islamic teaching allows
: students to explore their beliefs
: and cultural backgrounds more fully,
: an opportunity they would not have
: in a multi-faith state school. A
: deeper exploration of Islamic
: beliefs and history produces young
: Muslims who are willing and able to
: serve as responsible and
: knowledgeable ambassadors of Islam
: in the British multicultural
: society. State schools LEAs and the
: DFES are not in a position to
: educate Muslim pupils because they
: do not have enough bilingual Muslim
: teachers, governors and policy
: makers. Islam is a maker of identity
: and belonging rather than a system
: of belief.
: Iftikhar Ahmad
:
:
:
:
:
:
:
Message Thread:
« Back to thread