A Muslim family in Britain has claimed that its two teenaged boys have been subjected to discrimination at school for not having shaved their beard. The school authorities said it was a matter of dress code, not religion.
The two Muslim 14-year-olds say they are being excluded because of “pure discrimination”. They have been banned from attending lessons with other pupils at a school in Lancashire’s Accrington town because they refuse to shave their beards, reported The Independent citing one of their family members.
The boys, both Muslim, have been taught in “isolation” since the start of the new term at the Mount Carmel Roman Catholic High School a month ago, the family member added while requesting anonymity.
“Because these boys cannot shave their beards for religious reasons, they are being put in isolation for six-and-a-half hours every day.”
“They are not being allowed to mix with anybody or speak to friends. It is pure discrimination. They chose that school because it is within their area and has good results. The school has to have an open policy and they have to take in people from all religions.”
Because these boys cannot shave their beards for religious reasons, they are being put in isolation for six-and-a-half hours every day. They are not being allowed to mix with anybody or speak to friends. It is pure discrimination’
– A relative of one of the boys
Headteacher Xavier Bowers said boys had that situation explained to them and were told they must return from the summer clean shaven – and he insisted that the matter was one of dress code, not religion.
‘On the back of that, I made arrangements to speak to a number of other Asian boys who were also sporting beards to make them aware there would not be any further exceptions and, when they came back after the summer, they were expected to be clean-shaven. All but two did.
‘Children who turn up to school with red hair, inappropriate jewellery, false tan or make-up are isolated in a room until the matter is addressed and then they return to their normal day.
‘These boys were given the option to do that and chose not to.’
The issue of whether beards are compulsory for devout Muslims is open to interpretation, according to Professor Muhammad Abdel Haleem, of the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London.
He said the Prophet Muhammad was believed to have had a beard and that men insisting on doing the same claimed they were emulating his actions.
“We have not taken this decision lightly,” Bowers said. “I have spent quite a lot of time researching the issue and speaking to Muslim elders.
“There is nothing specifically written in the Quran about wearing a beard. It is a choice those boys are making. However inclusive we are, we have standards to maintain.
On Friday, Bowers issued a further statement via Lancashire County Council in which it seemed the school was not backing down from its stance. (IANS and Agencies)