What about the muslims?
Alex Salmond, First Minister, and leader of the SNP, wishes to permit muslim schools, and to extend to muslims the right to denominational education such as Roman Catholics and Jews enjoy.
Bashir Ahmad, SNP, was the first muslim elected to the Scottish Parliament. In his first BBC interview upon his election as an MSP, he was asked what he will try to accomplish for Scotland. He answered: “A school for muslims” and on further prompting, “Independence for Scotland.” 4/5/2007 BBC 1, 6.05 a.m.
The SNP has been the most successful party at courting the muslim vote in Scotland, although Labour has been doing so for years in England.
Salmond is concerned about the lack of progress towards muslim schools. The Timesreports: “Other party leaders refused to help Muslim campaigners. Murdo Fraser, the deputy Scottish Tory leader, said Muslim schools could aggravate religious tensions which have grown in recent years. “The concern is that creating more faith schools is divisive and not in the interests of societal cohesion,” he said. A spokesman for Jack McConnell said the issue should remain for local councils to decide and that he would not intervene. A source close to Nicol Stephen, the Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, said the existing laws already allowed Muslim state schools to be created so long as they met acceptable standards.”
David Cameron for the Tories supports faith schools, but he warns: “The correct policy response on faith schools is to heed the words of David Bell, the chief inspector of schools, who expressed his concern over what is being taught in muslim schools.”
Along with choice comes the issues of standards, tolerance and tax-payers’ money.
When a muslim school in Scotland failed to come up to educational standards a few years ago, the response at the time was that tax-payers’ money should be used to bring it up to standard. With this recipe Christians could open a few schools with minimum funds, fail the standards, and then demand money to bring them up to standard.
Historically there was never much support for faith schools in Scotland. The Free Church of Scotland schools were sold out in 1872 in favour of integrated education, with promises from politicians to maintain the Christian ethos. These promises were forgotten and not kept. In the 20th century, Roman Catholic schools were tolerated but viewed as divisive. However, since the rise of the muslim vote in Britain, the mood has changed. The government has to balance the application of acceptable standards of education with the autonomy of faith communities to educate their children consistently with their own faith.
Abdul Dean is the muslim who was first on the CPA List for Glasgow Region. This illustrates the willingness of some muslims to support Christian values. It can also be seen in the fact that 80% of pupils at one Roman Catholic school, St Albert’s Primary, in Glasgow, were muslim. However, the issue of worship leads to divisiveness, and this is where most religious communities divide.
The Scottish Christian Party brings the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone, Christians, failed Christians, atheists, muslims and homosexuals, without discrimination. It is Christianity which built the United Kingdom into the tolerant society which received Jews and Huguenots in the 17th Century, Roman Catholics from Ireland in the 19th Century, and muslims in the 20th Century. The intolerance of the secular, humanist lobby which would abolish religion is a 21st Century evolutionary carbuncle on our society.
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Alex Salmond, First Minister, and leader of the SNP, wishes to permit muslim schools, and to extend to muslims the right to denominational education such as Roman Catholics and Jews enjoy.
Bashir Ahmad, SNP, was the first muslim elected to the Scottish Parliament. In his first BBC interview upon his election as an MSP, he was asked what he will try to accomplish for Scotland. He answered: “A school for muslims” and on further prompting, “Independence for Scotland.” 4/5/2007 BBC 1, 6.05 a.m.
The SNP has been the most successful party at courting the muslim vote in Scotland, although Labour has been doing so for years in England.
Salmond is concerned about the lack of progress towards muslim schools. The Timesreports: “Other party leaders refused to help Muslim campaigners. Murdo Fraser, the deputy Scottish Tory leader, said Muslim schools could aggravate religious tensions which have grown in recent years. “The concern is that creating more faith schools is divisive and not in the interests of societal cohesion,” he said. A spokesman for Jack McConnell said the issue should remain for local councils to decide and that he would not intervene. A source close to Nicol Stephen, the Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, said the existing laws already allowed Muslim state schools to be created so long as they met acceptable standards.”
David Cameron for the Tories supports faith schools, but he warns: “The correct policy response on faith schools is to heed the words of David Bell, the chief inspector of schools, who expressed his concern over what is being taught in muslim schools.”
Along with choice comes the issues of standards, tolerance and tax-payers’ money.
When a muslim school in Scotland failed to come up to educational standards a few years ago, the response at the time was that tax-payers’ money should be used to bring it up to standard. With this recipe Christians could open a few schools with minimum funds, fail the standards, and then demand money to bring them up to standard.
Historically there was never much support for faith schools in Scotland. The Free Church of Scotland schools were sold out in 1872 in favour of integrated education, with promises from politicians to maintain the Christian ethos. These promises were forgotten and not kept. In the 20th century, Roman Catholic schools were tolerated but viewed as divisive. However, since the rise of the muslim vote in Britain, the mood has changed. The government has to balance the application of acceptable standards of education with the autonomy of faith communities to educate their children consistently with their own faith.
Abdul Dean is the muslim who was first on the CPA List for Glasgow Region. This illustrates the willingness of some muslims to support Christian values. It can also be seen in the fact that 80% of pupils at one Roman Catholic school, St Albert’s Primary, in Glasgow, were muslim. However, the issue of worship leads to divisiveness, and this is where most religious communities divide.
The Scottish Christian Party brings the Gospel of Jesus Christ to everyone, Christians, failed Christians, atheists, muslims and homosexuals, without discrimination. It is Christianity which built the United Kingdom into the tolerant society which received Jews and Huguenots in the 17th Century, Roman Catholics from Ireland in the 19th Century, and muslims in the 20th Century. The intolerance of the secular, humanist lobby which would abolish religion is a 21st Century evolutionary carbuncle on our society.
Back to list
