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By: Nabil Raza
LEICESTER, Britain: A Muslim school in Britain, which says it is
the first purpose-built Islamic faith secondary school in the
country, has come under fire for giving priority to Sunni pupils
over Shia ones. Shia and Sunni are the two main recognized
schools of thought (sects) in Islam.
Madani High School in Leicester describes itself as an
establishment that 'will endeavour to fulfil demands from the
Muslim community as priority'.
A probe by the schools adjudicator found its admission
arrangements state that priority will be given to pupils who
follow one of four schools of Islamic law - Hanafi, Shaf'i,
Hanbali or Maliki.
All these groups belong to the Sunni sect of Islam.
Schools adjudicator Dr Elizabeth Passmore found there were
aspects of the school's admission arrangements that were
unlawful and did not comply with the School Admissions Code.
She wrote in her report on the school: 'It seems to me to be
clear that the school was expected to be a Muslim faith school,
equally accessible to all Muslims and not one giving priority to
a particular group of Muslims.'
She also expressed concern about the school giving 60 of its
places to girls and 40 to boys.
A policy of admitting a fixed proportion of boys or girls to a
school may breach the Sex Discrimination Act, which prevents
pupils from being disadvantaged because of their sex.
Madani was also found to have failed to honour its stated
intention of making 10 per cent of places available to
non-Muslim pupils.
The British Humanist Association described the existence of
state schools that discriminate on religious grounds as 'deeply
wrong'.
Source:
http://www.jafariyanews.com
Date: 2010/04/20
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