Indian-origin principal bans prayers, wins in UK court against Muslim student

An Indian-origin school principal won a legal battle in the UK High Court, which upheld her ban on prayer rituals. This ruling came after a Muslim student legally challenged the ban as discriminatory.

Katherine Birbalsingh, is also known as “Britain’s strictest headmistress”.

Birbalsingh, who is of Indo-Guyanese heritage, informed the court that Michaela School, located in Wembley, north London, is a ‘secular’ secondary school. She stated that the school’s policy does not permit religious prayers to maintain an “inclusive environment”.

Despite half of the school’s students being Muslims, there are also significant numbers of Sikh, Hindu, and Christian pupils.

“As the Governing Body is aware, the School does not provide a prayer room for use by pupils, for various reasons. These reasons include that a prayer room would foster division amongst pupils, contrary to the School’s ethos, lack of available space and available staff to supervise pupils and that pupils would miss important School activities, including during the lunch break if they were to spend time in a prayer room,” Birbalsingh told the court, reported PTI.

LEGAL RULING UPHOLDS SCHOOL’S DECISION

Justice Thomas Linden, in an 80-page judgment following a hearing in January, ruled in the school’s favour.

The judge stated that the school was justified in considering whether to allow indoor ritual prayer, which would change its long-standing policy of not having a prayer room.

“She (the unnamed pupil) knew that the School is secular, and her own evidence is that her mother wished her to go there because it was known to be strictâ€æ Her evidence has focussed on her preferences and what she supposes the position would be elsewhere,” the judgement noted.

In response to the ruling, Birbalsingh hailed it as a “victory for all schools” and praised the school’s principles of “robust yet respectful secularism”.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan supported the decision, asserting that headteachers should have autonomy in making school decisions.

The High Court in London ruled that the prayer ritual ban was legal under Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) and Section 19 of the Equality Act 2010.

The Muslim pupil, whose name cannot be disclosed for legal reasons, argued that the ban uniquely impacted her faith because of its ritualistic nature.

Although she lost the case, she feels she stood up for what she believed was right and now aims to concentrate on her studies.