London – The IRU believes that today’s court decision upholding Michaela school prayer ban should be challenged since the decision disproportionately impacts its student body.
There are many examples of secular schools in the UK who accommodate and even facilitate collective prayer according to the religious beliefs of their students.
The school argued that allowing prayer rituals risked “undermining inclusion” among pupils, a strange argument to make given that 50% of their student body is understood to be Muslim.
Moreover, the statement by the court that the pupil “at the very least impliedly [sic] accepted, when she enrolled at the school, that she would be subject to restrictions on her ability to manifest her religion” is a misnomer since the prayer ban was imposed after the pupil enrolled at the school.
The IRU has offered support to the family involved in the Michaela school case, and we urge the public to unite on this issue; religious rights that are protected by the Equality Act should always supersede school policy.
Majid Iqbal, CEO of the IRU, said:
“The Michaela school is notorious for its rigid demands on pupils’ time and movements, which it argued made collective prayer difficult, if not impossible. Muslim students would have to violate school policies aimed at regimenting students’ movements – but the fact that the court viewed school policy over the right to religious belief and practice, is unique.”
“The Michaela school prayer ban case is not a ‘landmark’ case because the deciding factor largely came down to the history of the schools rigid and extreme secular ethos. Nonetheless, the decision should be challenged in order to safeguard religious rights in the UK.”
For any enquiries, including information or interview requests, please contact: info@theiru.org.uk