Muslim Matters An Examination of the Educational Needs of Muslim Children in Contemporary Britain

Abstract

The recent publication of The Satanic Verses has helped to unmask Muslim
discontent in British society. Athough the initial outrage ditected at the
author seems to have subsided, advocacy by Muslims living in Britain who
are concerned about their children's educational needs will not disappear. This
paper addresses the difficulty of making adequate provisions for Muslim children
in the maintained (i.e., public) school sector as well as the call for sep
arate and publicly funded schooling. Attempts to modify certain aspects of
schooling (i.e., physical education) are discussed, as is the movement towards
scrutinizing the entire curriculum to eflsure that it reflects cultural diversity.
The extent to which the common school curriculum can accommodate all pupils
is also explored in light of statutory requirements imposed by the National
Curriculum. Finally, administrative adjustments and the resulting implications
for schools trying to meet Muslim needs are discussed, as are the legal
alternatives to state education available to Muslim parents.
Muslims are the third largest religious minority in Britain today; Roman
Catholics and Anglicans are larger in number (Ashraf 1986). While multiracial,
multicultural, and multilingual in nature, they m united by a religious
dimension within their lives (Nasr 1975). The powerful Islamic revival among
Muslim populations, which the West views as "Islamic fundamentalism," has
deeply affected the thinking of Muslim minority groups in the "unsympathetic"
West (Anwar 1982; Hulmes 1989; Qureshi and Khan 1989). Indeed,
Islam can be seen as a religion, a social and moral code, and "as a bulwark
against modem atheistic Concepts" (Union of Muslim Organisations 1976).
While some view Muslim communities as cores of resistance in liberal democracies,
Muslims see themselves as fighting a tide of secularization. Beneath
this rather superficial description, however, lie major issues conceming social
cohesion, cultural diversity, and the extent of minority rights in a democracy ...