A successful North Londoner Schoolwho ever Great Britain A student of what was said to be the institution with the strictest rules prayer She lost the case in the High Court against the ban on payment of
The student, who cannot be named, brought legal action against Michaela Community School in Brent, London, claiming the policy was discriminatory and that its formal nature made her faith ‘unique’. It affects.
But in a written judgment on Tuesday, Justice Linden rejected the student’s arguments in what head teacher Catherine Birbal Singh described as a ‘victory for all schools’. Catherine Birbal Singh was a former government official for social mobility and co-founded the school with former home minister Sawela Braverman.
The school argued in court that its policy was justified when it faced death and bomb threats linked to religious worship at the site.
Birbal Singh said: ‘Schools should be free to do what is right for their students.’
According to him: ‘Therefore, this decision of the court is a victory for all schools. Schools should not be forced to change their approach to a child and their mother just because they don’t like something at school.’
The student who sued the school said in a statement provided by the law firm Simpson Miller that she was disappointed by the decision but felt she did the right thing by challenging the ban the first time.
She said: ‘Obviously I am very disappointed that the judge did not agree with me, as stated in the judgment, I do not agree that it will be very difficult for the school to accommodate these students. who wanted to worship at lunch break.’
‘The school is running very well and is generally very successful in managing everything,’ he added. The school does not want to allow the students to worship, it has chosen a different path and the judge supports them.”
She said: ‘Even though I lost the case, I still feel I did the right thing by trying to challenge the ban. I tried my best and stayed true to myself and my religion. It was not easy for me to join this case. The teachers here are very good and I hope to do my best. I am also grateful for the understanding that my non-Muslim friends at school have had to observe the issues affecting us.’
The student’s mother said she was ‘deeply disappointed with the verdict’. He claimed that ‘the crux of the matter was that prayer is not just an optional act for us but it is an essential element that shapes our lives as Muslims.’
He said that ‘prayer has an undeniable importance in our faith, which guides us with strength and faith in every difficulty.’
In another statement, head teacher Birbal Singh claimed that last year Muslim students were pressured to ‘pray, walk out of school and wear hijab’ while teachers faced abuse and threats. He said that a wrong narrative was presented that Muslims are an oppressed minority in the school.
In a post on X, he wrote that ‘in 2014, 30 percent of our total number were Muslim students and now it is 50 percent. The number of students here is very high. If families don’t like the school, they won’t choose to send their children to Michaela again and again.’
Referring to previous incidents at the school, Birbal Singh said: ‘Last year we saw a small number of Muslim students being pressured to fast, pray, walk out of school and wear hijab. I saw my black fellow teacher being racially abused and threatened. Another teacher whose personal house was almost attacked and a brick thrown through the window of another’s house.’
He added: ‘It is a false narrative that some people try to paint Muslims in our school as an oppressed minority. They are actually the largest majority group. Those most at risk are other minorities and Muslim children who receive less attention.’
Dan Rosenberg, a lawyer for Simpson-Miller, said the judge noted that the case raised ‘issues of genuine public interest in situations where the school’s viewpoint conflicts with the religious viewpoint of a significant segment of society.’
The case will be seen as upholding the right of non-religious schools to decide whether to allocate time and space for students to worship.
Education Minister Gillian Keegan described Michaela as an ‘outstanding school’ and said: ‘I hope this decision will give all school leaders the confidence to make the right decisions for their students.’
He said: ‘My thinking has always been clear that head teachers are the best choice to make decisions in their schools.’
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The student, on the other hand, argued that the policy, which prohibits her from praying for about five minutes during lunch, on dates when religious principles require it, but not during classes and that This type of discrimination makes religious minorities feel alienated from society.
The student’s lawyers, who had previously said the ‘prayer ban’ illegally violated her right to religious freedom, now added that the decision made her feel like an outsider. Referring to the TTT, the court was told that the student was only making a minor request to be allowed to pray during the meal break.
The student also challenged the allegedly unfair decisions to temporarily suspend her from school.
Justice Lindon, who heard the case at London’s High Court in January, said there was ‘a rational connection between the atmosphere of the school team, their inclusion, social cohesion etc. and the aim of promoting the policy regarding worship. is.’
He said: ‘The harm caused by the policy of preventing Muslim students from worshiping in schools is not, in my view, more important than the aims they seek to promote in the interests of the school community, including Muslim students.’
The judge also upheld the student’s decision to temporarily expel him from school.
Lawyers for the school claimed that the governor and headteacher of the school, which has about 700 students, about half of whom are Muslim, had a discretionary right to decide on its policies.
The court was told that Birbal Singh had allegedly first introduced the policy in March last year on the basis of ‘false information and errors’ which was supported by the governing body in May.
In March 2023, about 30 students spread their blazers in the school yard and started praying.
Lawyers for the school said the students seen praying outside led to a concerted campaign on social media about the school’s religion, which has since garnered thousands of signatures on an online petition.
During the hearing but before the verdict, Birbal Singh told the Sunday Times that the legal process was causing ‘massive harm’ and argued that the school should be allowed to become secular.
“If we lose this case, the school will definitely appeal,” he told the newspaper. She added: ‘I will not divide children according to race and religion. It won’t happen under my watch.’
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2024-08-30 06:02:15
