As Muslims around the world observe the holy month of Ramadan, images of pupils praying in a car park have been circulating on social media. Loxford school in London’s alleged failure to provide a prayer room for its pupils has generated backlash in the form of a petition calling on the school to review its facilities.
The Ilford based state school whose Muslim pupils make up a significant proportion of its students provides a place for Jummah prayer on Fridays. However, no such arrangements have been made for other days of the week, leaving students with no option but to pray in the car park. A teacher from the school maintains that pupils have never been told to pray outside and are permitted to attend the local mosque during lunchtime on the condition that consent is obtained from parents.
However, for some, this is poor compensation for not providing a space within the school itself that is available to students for the whole week. The chairman of the Loxford Muslim Society, Alimul Al-raze has said that pupils who come to pray at the mosque are ‘quite rushed and in stress as they have to come all the way to the masjid which is about five, ten minutes away and then they have to go back. ‘Over 14,000 people have signed the petition calling on the school to review how it meets the religious needs of its pupils.
It has also come to light that at least one former member of staff has faced similar issues to the pupils. Rukayyah Azain said that as a teacher at the school three years ago, she was not provided with a space to pray. While the school website claims to advocate the creation of ‘of an inclusive environment’ through the study of the major world religions, the former teacher claims that an ethos of respect regardless of ‘creed, colour and gender’ is not being adequately advocated at the school.
However, Councillor Jas Athwal claims that Loxford School currently facilitates self-reflection and prayer time for pupils and staff. He added that Redbridge Council is liaising with the school to see how existing provisions can be improved. A school spokesperson has said that it aims to open a contemplation room available to all students after the May half term. Huma Khan
