Catholic Schools to Ban Islam from Religious GCSE Studies: Senior Muslim Readers Brand Decision 'Very Disappointing' after Church Intervention

Former secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain
Sir Iqbal Sacranie said the decision to ban Islam from religious
studies undermined greater tolerance between the faiths

MAIL ON SUNDAY: Roman Catholic Church ordered schools to teach Judaism with Christianity / The move ruled out teaching Islam and other faiths in religious studies / Edict has been described as 'very disappointing' by senior Muslim leaders / GCSE reforms mean schools are required to teach two religions not one

The Roman Catholic Church is at the centre of a row after ordering its schools to teach Judaism alongside Christianity in GCSE religious studies – ruling out Islam or other faiths.

The edict was described as ‘very disappointing’ by senior Muslim leaders. Sir Iqbal Sacranie, former secretary general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said the decision undermined Pope Francis’s message of greater tolerance between the faiths, and urged Catholic leader Cardinal Vincent Nichols to think again.

The Church’s move follows last year’s reforms to the GCSE exam. Under the new rules, schools are required to teach two religions rather than one.

The change was designed to drive extremism out of the classroom following the ‘Trojan Horse’ plot, in which individuals were found to have been introducing fundamentalist Islamic teaching into Muslim schools in Birmingham. Read on and comment » | Jonathan Petre for ‘Mail On Sunday’ | Saturday, November 7, 2015