"Protest" at Catholic School

St Albert's Primary School in the Pollokshields area of Glasgow is once again in the news. This time the local priest, Father John Gannon, has labelled Muslim parents who want to withdraw their children from Mass at the Catholic school as "extremists".

This "pulpit attack" was splashed on the front page of the Daily Record. For those justifiably reluctant to take anything reported in Scotland's biggest selling tabloid seriously, he repeated his allegations of a protest on BBC Reporting Scotland and The Herald.

In reality there was no protest. Parents had arranged with the head teacher, Mrs Diver, to take their children out of school for the final hour of last Friday when Mass takes place. This was after she said she could make no alternative provision for them within the school.

Clearly Father Gannon has a strange idea of what constitutes a protest. There were no placards. There was no chanting. Parents came to pick up their children. His labelling of those parents as "extremists" is below the belt in today's political climate. It's even more despicable coming from a man of the cloth.

Parents are entitled to ask who the "extremist" is between them and a man who is insisting on performing Mass in front of 300 Muslim schoolchildren. This saga has been going on for over a year and it is high time that the head teacher formulated a clear and publicised policy on the options available to children who do not wish to take part in Catholic religious observance.

Facing a wall at the back as has happened before now is inhumane and should not be an option. The head teacher says she cannot provide any rooms or supervision elsewhere in the school building. Taking your children home is now considered a protest. What is the school's position? Bizarrely things have gone downhill. Former pupils from two decades ago report that at that time, the Catholic minority in the school were taken out for Mass, while the rest of the pupils carried on with class as normal.

To complicate matters, the parents seem to have been caught in the crossfire between the local Labour Party and the Scottish National Party. Both Mohammad Sarwar MP and Councillor Bashir Ahmad (of the former and latter respectively) were invited by the parents to represent them and act as witnesses when they went to pick up their children, should Mrs Diver renege on the arrangement.

Instead what happened is that the pro-Labour Daily Record has put Cllr Ahmad at the head of this "protest", with Sarwar disowning the parents. In the BBC Reporting Scotland coverage, Deputy Education Convener Gordon Matheson spoke outside the City Chambers slamming the SNP. He had nothing to say about the predicament of the parents or children.

Sometimes politicians need to understand things can happen outside of their little bubble, and that there are people who need help rather than to see their elected representatives act like schoolchildren.

For more background see here.

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EXCLUSIVE: MUSLIM PROTEST SPLITS SCHOOL

Feb 6 2006 Exclusive Fury as parents disrupt Mass By Cara Page (Daily Record)

A PRIEST yesterday launched a pulpit attack on Muslims who disrupted a Mass at a Catholic school. Father John Gannon labelled parents who withdrew children from the service at staggered intervals as "extremists". And MP Mohammad Sarwar also condemned the demo, rejecting claims that Muslim pupils were forced to attend Mass at St Albert's Primary in Pollokshields, Glasgow. The Glasgow Central Labour MP said the actions did not represent the wider Muslim community. He said: "It was totally unnecessary to disrupt a religious service, especially when the head teacher made it clear she doesn't force anyone to take part in this Mass." The Campaign for Muslim Schools last month called for the school's faith to be changed to Islam. Almost 80 per cent of the 350 pupils are Muslim, while 13 per cent are Sikh. The walkout from Friday's Mass involved about a dozen children and was led by SNP councillor Bashir Ahmed. Father Gannon, who was celebrating the Mass at the school, said parents who did not wish their children to be present could have given the school advance notice. In his sermon yesterday at St Albert's Church, he accused them of "deliberate and sustained" disruption. He added: "The vast majority of the parents, of all faiths, remain supportive and respectful of the school." Father Gannon said the Campaign for Muslim Schools alleged pupils were forced to attend Mass and those who did not had to stand facing a wall. He added: "It is a waste of breath to refute this rubbish." Sarwar said he was satisfied no children were forced to attend Mass. He added: "Seventy-eight per cent of pupils are Muslim. If only 10 people have taken their child home, that shows this action was not representative of the wider community." Brian Fitzpatrick, chairman of St Albert's parish council, said he was "appalled" by the protest. He said: "It doesn't matter if you are Catholic, Jewish or Hindu, you do not go into a place of worship and disrupt it. You don't use children as a political stunt." Councillor Ahmed was unavailable for comment. A Catholic Church spokesman said Glasgow City Council were responsible for the running of St Albert's. He added: "Where a majority of children at a Catholic school are now of a different faith, the decision on whether the school remains Catholic is entirely up to the local authority." ---------- Muslim parents to meet church over school row ALISON CHIESA (The Herald) February 07 2006 Catholic church leaders will meet Muslim parents this week after their children were withdrawn from a primary school Mass. Divisions over religion deepened at St Albert's RC primary in Pollokshields, Glasgow, after parents withdrew children during Friday's service. The action prompted Father John Gannon, the parish priest who celebrated the Mass, to describe the Muslim parents as "extremists". The parents in turn accused the churchman of potentially inciting "religious and racial hatred". However, a spokesman for the Catholic church confirmed it was due to meet parents in an attempt to resolve the situation. He added: "St Albert's is a Catholic school and therefore it is perfectly normal for a priest to celebrate Mass there regularly. Children at the school are taught to respect all faiths and no-one is obliged to assist at religious ceremonies . . . Those who chose to disrupt the children's observance with noisy protest do themselves no favours." Around 12 Muslim pupils were removed from the Mass following claims that the children were forced to participate in monthly services because teachers were unable to supervise them elsewhere. The allegations were used to add weight last month to Muslim calls for the school to change its faith so that it could better represent the make-up of its 300-plus pupils, who are predominantly Islamic. However, Father Gannon criticised the parents' actions during his Sunday sermon at St Albert's Church. He spoke of how a dozen protesters gathered just before Mass started. He said: "Had this been about attendance at Mass, they would have followed the regulations and given the school advance notice, as indeed one person did. "By their deliberate and sustained disruption it is clear that their intention was to show their contempt for the Christian faith. "It was especially ironic that they chose to deliver this insult on the day Muslims throughout Europe were expressing outrage at the disrespect shown to their prophet." Bashir Ahmed, the local SNP councillor, denied reports that he led the action, but refused to comment further. The allegations were disputed by parents involved. Tariq Ali, a father-of-four and member of the school board, said: "Parents had discussed withdrawing children from Mass with the head teacher. The only option available to us was withdrawing them for that hour, which we did. "It was not a protest and there was certainly no attempt to disrupt the service. If any parents did enter after the service began, it must have been because they were late."

Comments

[Sohaib]

Thanks for the clarifications on this story. Sarwar has behaved disgracefully once again. And as for Fr. Gannon labelling the parents as "extremists", why didn't he just go ahead and say "terrorists"? Same effect.

[Osama Saeed]

Comment I received via email that needs sharing:

"I can only share my experience as someone who was educated at a Catholic school in Jerusalem from 1966 to 1980. I attended a Frensh school called College De Frere De Lasall, a branch of the Fransiscan fathers. This school was set up as a charity in France by a wealthy man to look after poor Frensh kids and soon had branches all over the world.The level of education was the best you can get anywhere in the world. With such reputation the demand on the school meant they could not meet the running cost. Their solution was to allow wealthy kids of well off families to study at the schools and pay fees that subsidised the cost of educating the poor ones. This programme also allowed paying Muslim kids to study at the school.

"The experience I had in tolerence of others is priceless. When it came to worship the Christians had their own Chapel to pray and take Mass but we were never asked or made to attend. On the contrary while the Christians were doing their own religious education, the school provided the Muslim pupils with excellent Muslim teachers to provide Islamic education.

"As a result of this model all pupils learned to respect the others while getting their needs met. I am sure that had we been forced to join our Christian peers in their religious education we would have grown to resent their religion and the benefit of tolerence would have been lost."

[k campbell]

I note Cpouncillor Ahmed has stated publicly that there was in fact a deliberate and sustained disruption of the mass by Muslim parent protestors last week. Please refer to the Scottish catholic Observer

[Osama Saeed]

No idea where one can pick up a copy of the Catholic Observer. I'd be interested to see what Cllr Ahmad was quoted as saying though, especially as the Daily Record published a letter from him last week rubbishing the idea of him leading a protest, or indeed that there was a protest at all.

[ainelivia]

Have come late to this discussion.

A few days back I saw a news report on SKY about this incident. As a Catholic, I would be deeply offended if I thought that the actions of the parents were designed to interupt worship.

Having now seen the report, I have come to the conclusion that the actions of a few, did cause offence to the local Catholic community.

And to me it seems that an "issue" is being created to bring attention to the main issue, which is government funded schools for the Muslim community. That those involved chose to "use" a time of worship to give this issue greater publicity is cynical, and without principle. (That the school and it's time of worship is being used to test the water so to speak.)

If I am correct, I believe that you were one of the people interviewed for the report. It may be that your responses were edited; however, you seemed to dismiss the concerns of the Catholic community, by the tone of what you said and your demeanour. I am suprised.

[Osama]

Ainelivia, I was quoted on that report saying that I know of no protest. My exact words were "I know the parents involved [in asking for the kids to be exempted from mass, according to Catholic and local authority guidelines] and they have too much respect for the Catholic faith to be playing games with their rituals".

The leader of this group of parents does not sit down before the Catholic priest such is his respect. It is for this reason I cannot believe reports of a protest. I've asked for evidence - names of parents involved, how they disrupted the mass etc but I have received no response. Anyone distrupting the mass should be taken to task, make no mistake about it.

Without any evidence however, I can only assume this was a smokescreeen created by the school to draw attention from the head teacher's mismanagement of the situation for well over a year. It should not have come to this.

[ainelivia]

Only knowing what I have heard from TV reports, and knowing that there is always a journalistic bias and agenda, there is not much more I could say of details and specifics.

But to be as blunt as I can, you are right it should not have come to this. However what worries me is how things flame up because one hot head gets it into his (and it usually is a he) head that he/his/ whatever is being attacked; the response now inflames the so-called attackers and we have in return a response from the other side now entrenched. Where do they go from there?

Sectarianism is only too well entrenched among some Catholic and Protestant communities; not to mention shades of Methodist, Baptist, Presybterian, and god knows what else. OS, we just don't need any more. Can we not temper needs with a little understanding?

We Celts (Irish, Scots, Welsh) are more Latin in our response than the English. Religion is often more important than nationality or race, and often so intertwined with a persons politics and attitudes. But then being a Scot yourself you'd know this only too well. Thanks for responding. AL

[Rory]

Although it is a Catholic school and if the parents don't want their children to attend the Mass they shouldn't send their kids there, there is a non-denom school just up the road if their not happy with the catholic one

[Osama]

Rory, Glasgow City Council guidelines and those of the Catholic Church themselves say that no child should be forced to take part in rituals.

[Iftikhar]

State Funded Muslim Schools

British schooling has been mis-educating and de-educating Muslim children for the last 50 years and for the first time the Muslim leadership openly declared that British school is a home of institutional racism where there is no place for foreign culture and languages. Institutional racism is depriving Muslim children of the chance to go to their own faith schools. It leads LEAs to reject or delay approval of Muslim schools. Policy makers like Mr. Graham Lane and others like him do not want to see even a single Muslim school in the United Kingdom. The British teachers have no respect for Islamic faith and Muslim community. Western education system can easily deprogram Muslim children and force them to adopt un-Islamic values. Let the Muslim parents decides how and where to educate their children. According to MORI social research institute on behalf of Bristol LEA, nine out of ten Muslim parents agreed with the model of an Islamic secondary school set up within the state system. I rejected British schooling for Muslim children in the early 70s.

A child who has English as a second language is seen as having a special need – not as having a skill to be lauded from the rooftops. Bilingual children think in different way. Language has a profound effect in shaping the ways people think and act. Certain concepts are embedded in words that do not translate. There are repertoires of phrases which exist in Arabic or Urdu because there is no English equivalent. State schools are slaughter houses and are not suitable for bilingual Muslim children. Muslim children in the UK may lose out when they join reception classes because the school’s values and language reflect those of the dominant native culture, rather than those of their home. Almost all recent research literature agrees that if you want children whose home language is not English to excel in English –medium schools, it is important to nurture and acknowledge that first language along side their English development. Cultivating bilingualism could and should promote pupil’s linguistic development. Muslim children need bilingual Muslim teachers as role models.

Taxpayers’ money spent on schools should be handed to parents as vouchers to be used for their children’s education as they wished. Funds may be given to parents to set up their own schools. Lady Uddin argues strongly for the benefits of faith-based schooling, rejecting claims made in reports on the 2001 riots in Oldham, Burnley and Bradford that polarised schooling contributed to community division. Culturally separate groups, communities and institutions do not have to be the causes of social instability. There are hundreds of state schools where Muslim pupils are in majority, all such schools may be designated as Muslim community schools to be managed and controlled by Muslim Educational Trust and Charities.
Iftikhar Ahmad
www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

[Ted]

Just what Scotland needs - more kids segregated on the grounds of religion. Yeah, that'll bring everyone together. It's bad eough Catholic bigots insisting on such pathetic separation without Muslim bigots joining them. Have a word with yourselves.

[Yusuf Smith]

As-Salaamu 'alaikum,

Let me get this straight: the school was holding a whole-school mass when 7% or 9% of the school's pupils are Catholic - that is, for 25 or 32 children out of 350? And they refuse to make alternative arrangements for the non-Catholic *majority*?

That is plain stupid, and reflects only bigotry. There clearly are not enough Catholics in this district to merit a Catholic school anymore, so the school should be declassified. This "just send your kids to the school up the road" response is not relevant, because it could well be full (or a dump full of kids the Catholic school won't take).

Regarding the De Lasall schools your emailer mentioned, Osama: I've met a brother from Sri Lanka who was educated in a Catholic school there, and he had a similar story to tell. I'm not sure if it was the same organisation and order or another, though.

[Osama]

Update on the situation - the school buckled to pressure after the news reports and miraculously managed to find someone to look after the kids who didn't want to take part in mass.

We are not in the place yet that Catholic schools in Palestine or Sri Lanka are in as described above. Muslims at St Albert's still need to opt-out of mass which is clearly a problem in a recent immigrant community who are not the best at expressing their rights.

To reiterate, 20 years ago at St Albert's, Muslims carried on with classes while the 10% of Catholics were taken out for Mass. The school has managed somehow to go downhill under the current head teacher who engineered this whole mess.

[Abu Abdur Rahman]

Assalamo 'alaikum

Yusuf & Osama - the Catholic schools in Occupied Palestine and Sri Lanka may well be exemplars of tolerance - I do not know. However, my understanding of Christian schools in South Asia is quite different - it is a fact that Christian missionary organisations run numerous schools in poor or rural areas of non-Christian countries with the explicit aim of teaching the non-Christian locals about Christianity - they may also impart decent education at little or no cost to the parents, and may even provide a free school meal, which on its own is sometimes enough to attract a lot of interest - however, their main objective remains proselytising. The sad thing is that this continues to happen in Pakistan, a Muslim country, nearly 60 years after the colonials left.