Read the Faith Central verdict

Public opposition is hampering plans to expand the number of state-funded Muslim schools, a leading Muslim head teacher said today, as the Government confirmed plans to encourage the growth of faith schools.

Mohamed Mukadam, Chair of the Association of Muslim Schools, said that while there was a “huge demand” within the Muslim community for more state schools, local Muslim organisations encountered “a lot of negativity” when proposing to set up new schools. This could make negotiations with local authorities “quite difficult”, he said.

Dr Mukadam, head of the Madani High School in Leicester, a state secondary, added that the Muslim community in Britain was still relatively young. Muslim leaders in Britain had first concentrated on establishing Mosques, but now second and third generation Muslims were turning their attention to the establishment of schools.

At present there are only seven state-funded Muslim schools in England, with a further 115 in the independent sector. At least 30 independent schools have expressed an interest in moving into the state sector.

“There’s a huge demand for faith schools. We are confident that in the fullness of time, more faith schools can be established,” he said.

Dr Mukadam was speaking at the publication of Faith in the System, a joint document agreed by the Government and Britain's main faith organisations on the value of faith schools in society. The document follows a government retreat on plans to force new religious schools to take a quarter of their intake from pupils of other religions or those with no affiliation.

But teachers hit out against the Government plans, warning that religion should be separated from education. Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, attacked the proposals.

“Surely, the job of schools is to nurture children and young people as individuals and as responsible and compassionate global citizens," she said.

"Our members believe that we need schools which embrace the diversity within our community, not a diversity of schools dividing pupils and staff on religious grounds. The promotion of a particular religious viewpoint should remain the province of religious groups.”

Dr Bousted added that the union had the right to challenge restrictive admissions, employment, and curriculums in faith schools. She said that recent research has linked faith schools to segregation in the wider community.

The National Secular Society criticised the document published in collaboration with Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Jewish and Sikh groups as “plain madness”.

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