Londoners who want a ban on religious schools

By Nicholas Cecil, Evening Standard 06.09.06

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Nearly half of Londoners believe all religious schools should be banned, according to a new survey.

People were split over whether Muslim girls should be allowed to wear a veil, such as the hijab, in schools, with 44 per cent supporting a ban and 37 per cent opposing such a restriction.

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The poll also found that 46 per cent believe the basics of the Islamic faith should be part of the national curriculum for all children, compared with 43 per cent who disagreed. The survey's findings came as police continued to search an Islamic school in East Sussex that is alleged to have been used as an al Qaeda training camp.

Christian and Jewish schools have traditionally existed in Britain. However, asked which faith schools they favoured, 44 per cent of Londoners said they believe they should all be banned. Nearly 11 per cent said Britain should keep the religious schools it has but not allow any new Muslim, Hindu or Sikh schools, according to the YouGov/Evening Standard survey.

Seven per cent said Christian and Jewish schools should be allowed but not Muslim, Hindu or Sikh ones. Reacting to the poll's results, the Muslim Council of Britain insisted there should be equal treatment for all faith schools.

Spokesman Inayat Bunglawala said: "We should not allow any discrimination in terms of schooling. Over 50 per cent of Jewish children attend Jewish schools, most of which are funded by the taxpayer.

Should people from other minority faiths not be allowed the right to send their children to similar faith schools if they so wish?" Shadow education secretary David Willetts said some faith schools have a better ethnic mix than some secular schools.

"They give parents a greater diversity of schools to choose from but clearly faith schools should respect mainstream British values and not undermine them," he said.

Jon Benjamin of the Board of Deputies of British Jews argued that faith schools are about giving parents and their children a choice of education. He said: "Faith schools just give a basic moral grounding. Kids can have an education that has an ethos that relates to a particular faith which nevertheless is open and worldly in its outlook."

Lib- Dem president Simon Hughes, chairman of governors at St James's CoE primary school in his North Southwark and

Bermondsey constituency, suggested limiting to a quarter the number of places in any school for a particular group or faith. "There is a clear case for a new regime for education that does not put young people in faith boxes throughout their education," he said.

Overall, three quarters of people believe Muslim leaders could do significantly more to prevent the growth of extremism in their own community, with only 14 per cent saying they are doing all they reasonably can.

Londoners also expressed a lack of trust in the Government's ability to tackle Islamic extremism, with 69 per cent saying they had no confidence or not much, compared with 26 per cent who had a great deal or some confidence.

Nearly two thirds of Londoners felt that public bodies such as the police and local councils give the Muslim community "too much favourable special treatment", while 57 per cent of respondents believe London's Muslim community is " ghettoised ". Mr Bunglawala added: "The Muslim Council of Britain and all leading British Muslim organisations have called for co-operation with the police against the terror threat. At the same time, we recognise that some of our Government's policies, particularly in the Middle East, have contributed towards undermining national security."

Communities minister Phil Woolas said: "Faith schools are popular with parents and the Government believes that they should have a choice on whether to send their children to them. Faith schools can play a valuable role in promoting inclusion; abolishing them wouldn't help community cohesion but hinder it."

YouGov interviewed 1,173 electors throughout Greater London between 30 August and 3 September.

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Reader views (12)

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Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.

How can the Government promote more faith schools when common sense tells us that they must in the end prove divisive. Have they not learned lessons from Northern Ireland, where discrimination in schools helped to continue the senseless feuding between Protestants and Catholics? Of course the current Education Secreatary Ruth Kelly is an ardent Catholic and a member of Opus Dei, no wonder the policy is that faith schools must continue. Here in Spain we do not have the problem, this Government upon gaining power stipulated that religion should not be taught in schools.

- V.Mart., Torrox Costa, Spain.

I'll start by saying I'm an atheist. However, I do not foist my views on other people and similarly expect the same in return. Any school which has religion as its basis is duty bound to drum their religious beliefs into their pupils. To me, this is plain wrong. Also, a lot of religious schools seem to have a selectivity of pupils way beyond any state school. No wonder they get great results. They also tend to do well out of their charitable status. Why should they have this status? I agree with Dhanraj that we should operate a secular system in this country.

We already have too many divisions in our society - why should we allow more (and, indeed, sponsor them)? I like the UK because generally we're a fairly forgiving lot (apart from whinging a little) and I don't want to lose that freedom. If anybody can't stand free speech then it's best that they leave now.

In the last UK Census - 2001, when asked their religion, enough people responded to a silly idea on the Net and said that their religion was Jedi - as in "Star Wars" in case you've been in stasis for the last 20-odd years. In theory, that means that these people could demand their own colleges and schools - and, perhaps, their own light-sabers!

- Potter, Loughton, UK

I personally don't object to the idea of faith schools though I myself am not 'religious'. It seems to me the issue isn't so much about faith schools - which we've had in this country for [no pun intended] God knows how long - but with Muslim faith schools because rightly or wrongly, the perception is that these are inward looking - 'too religious' in a way, and are failing to equip their pupils with the skills to integrate with the wider community of which it is a part.

If that is the case, then I would go for banning ALL faith schools - the absence of faith schools doesn't mean a person can't practice their own religion in Church, at a mosque or whatever!

- John Lau, London, UK