Toronto School Defends Muslim Prayers In Cafeteria

By Ron Csillag
Religion News Service

TORONTO (RNS) A majority-Muslim public school in Toronto is defending its policy of allowing an imam to lead Friday prayers in the cafeteria, saying students who leave school for prayers at a mosque typically don't return to school.

For the past three years, some 300 Muslim students at Valley Park Middle School have been allowed to use the school cafeteria for Friday prayers. Before the policy change, school officials say students would leave classes early and not return.

"I think it's important to note the prayer isn't conducted under the auspices of the board," Jim Spyropoulos, a superintendent for inclusive schools with the Toronto District School Board, told the Globe and Mail newspaper. "This was the best solution that avoided compromising instructional time."

The issue is "about religious accommodation," Shari Schwartz-Maltz, a school district spokeswoman, told The Canadian Press.

Those explanations have not placated angry parents, who are lighting up radio call-in shows and blogging furiously about alleged favoritism toward Islam. Christian and other prayers are disallowed in the public school system.

In an unlikely alliance, Canadian Hindu Advocacy, the Jewish Defense League and the Muslim Canadian Congress have voiced strong opposition to the arrangement.

Islamic groups are "imposing their view" to "spread their ideology," Ron Banerjee, director of Canadian Hindu Advocacy, told the Globe and Mail.

The Muslim Canadian Congress has asked for the services to be halted or closely monitored to avert the spread of radicalism.

The board noted that there have been no complaints about the arrangement until it was highlighted recently by a right-wing blogger.

Comments

[kb26919]

06:31 PM on 07/31/2011

No religion of any kinf in public schools.

[omobob]

05:58 PM on 07/29/2011

With US politicians signing useless pledges to show their bigotry and distain for Islam the Canadians, with their fire arms, low murder rate and unlocked doors must surely think were quite delirious and paranoid down here in the USA. A point that would be hard to repudiate.

[DG G]

10:22 AM on 07/31/2011

No Bob - we think you are delirious and paranoid every time liberals/progressive express their utter disdain and bigotry towards Israel, Christianity and Judaism. -- We have the strictest gun laws in North America and that doesn't prevent gun related deaths or murders both of which are on the rise. We do NOT keep our doors unlocked - we also don't live in Igloos - you're misconceptions of Canadians is laughable and the overwhelming majority of Canadians do not find prayer held in school by an Imam and 'religious accomodation' to Muslims acceptable. As proof this school kept this practice under the radar knowingly --- they knew risking exposure would have meant a serious backlash which has happened. Canadian schools do not allow any prayer! Christians or Jews are not free to wish Merry Christmas or Happy Chanukah to anyone for fear of offending both Atheists and MUSLIMS!! No nativity scenes, no school prayers, no words with any kind of religious implication are allowed to be spoken in schools funded by tax payers. That this school has allowed an IMAM conduct a prayer session in the CAFETERIA for 3 years has angered Torontonians and Canadians across the country who have made it clear that they overwhelmingly DO NOT support this practice. It must be and will be stopped!

[omobob]

05:50 PM on 07/31/2011

Some one got up on the wrong side of the North American Continent. I will continue to think of Canadians as being a lot friendlier than Americans despite what i have read recently. cheers, oh canada

[jbarelli]

05:49 PM on 07/22/2011

While a delegate to my county's Democratic convention a couple of years ago, I ran across a fellow delegate that said that all prayer, of any kind should be banned from public schools. People getting together for prayer during lunches or during breaks should be forbidden.

Absurd.

The concept of separation of church and state is there to protect churches from governmental interference and to protect the rights of individuals that may believe in a way different from the majority. My religious beliefs should not be forced on you, nor yours on me. This includes protecting the right to have no faith.

Should the school board pay the Imam for his services? Of course not. But for businesses in the US, there is a law, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which could serve as a model.

Among other things, it says that employers must reasonably accommodate employees’ sincerely held religious practices unless doing so would impose an undue hardship on the employer.

No, students are not employees, but neither are they free to come and go from school as they please. In this, they are much like employees that cannot leave work to go to church, mosque, temple, whatever.

Allowing them to use a particular space that is not being used for something else at the time seems like a pretty reasonable accomodation.

[wardasaif]

03:41 AM on 07/25/2011

I completely agree. At least it's way better than kids ending up in gangs, doing drugs and indulging in self harming activities. Fact of the matter is, all religions tend to teach the middle path, the one of generosity and acceptance (or tolerance, at the least) of others and their faith. And yes, that also includes Islam.
The fact that at some point or another you have to deal with stupidity (extreme stupidity) of certain people does not mean that all whites are bad (reference ku klux) or that all Germans are inherently bad (reference Hitler) or that whites in general are superior to blacks (reference slavery).
A lot of hate just arises from the simple fact that people who are ignorant of Islam, talk about it as though they are the ultimate authority on it. Haters and posers.
As for religious activity in schools, it really is pretty much similar to work. The problem is, Muslims actually DO want to practice their faith, 5 times a day seven days a week, and it mostly involves kneeling before God in submission to what He wills. Not just once on Sunday. And no partying partying partying on Fridays.

[cdncommentator]

12:28 PM on 07/28/2011

If people want to send their kids to schools that have organized prayer five times a day, there are private schools that do this. Or they can live in a country where the public education system is geared to this.

Such is not the case in Canada. Jews are supposed to pray three times a day. I've never heard of a public school, even one in a predominantly Jewish area, provide a space and invite a rabbi in to conduct prayers at three times daily. It's never been asked for and never been provided. Nor should it be. Are Jewish children excused from classes on their holy days like Hindus or Muslims are? Yes. That's reasonable accommodation.

It is not reasonable accommodation to turn a public cafeteria into a mosque with an imam leading students who are required to sexually segregate with girls behind (of course) during the school day in a public school. It's unfair to both Muslim students who don't want to do this (but feel pressure to join) and non-Muslims who are entitled to their cafeteria being...well...a cafeteria.

[DG G]

10:44 AM on 07/31/2011

And yet the bigotry that exists & is directed towards Christianity and Judaism has resulted in NO prayer in schools for them. How dare you assume that ONLY Muslims practice their faith! What a bigot you are. I know lots of Muslims out partying on the weekend. And the assumption that if you DON"T devote an entire cafeteria to them to pray that they will leave school and end up in gangs doing drugs is so unbelievably naive and speaks to a warped mind. Can we bring in a Priest to hold morning prayer sessions for Christian kids? I also know alot of Muslim employees who don't leave work to pray 5x a day - they usually end up having happy hour drinks with their non Muslim collegues. If bringing in an Imam was a sign of enlighentment then why did the school do it below the radar. You wrote about dealing with the stupidity of certain people - it seems I m now dealing with your stupidity. Your air of superiority about Muslims stinks; your condescension towards people who practice other faiths and your incorrect assumptions about them reflect your biases and bigotry and by fiat make you no better than the haters and posers you lash out at.

[cdncommentator]

12:30 PM on 07/28/2011

No one is saying that at recess, students themselves can't find a place inside or outside to engage in prayer. They can.

Here's what's not allowed in the public system: organized prayer by one denomination in a public space during school hours. There is no group that is accommodated in Canada like this other than Muslims. And let's remember, only Muslims who agree with the way this particular imam is organizing the prayers are accommodated.

[jbarelli]

04:45 PM on 07/29/2011

Interesting point, but there is a counter-point to be made.

Christianity and Judaism are both accomodated in a different manner, and have been for many years. In the case of those two faiths, the schools accomodate them by closing on their holy days, not requiring attendance at all.

Islam's holy day is Friday. Of course, another possible accomodation would be to go to a four-day school week, Monday through Thursday, but that seems less practical and more disruptive than simply allowing Muslims to meet in an otherwise unused space for a few minutes of prayer.

[deckercat]

11:37 PM on 07/17/2011

there should be prayers all day long, education will be optional.

[ShabazII]

12:17 PM on 07/18/2011

The allies are building more mosques in Afghanistan than schools I guess. So something is going right.

[ShabazII]

12:22 PM on 07/18/2011

"The mosques are our barracks, the domes are our helmets, the minarets are our swords, and the faithful are our army”
Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Oh right they are building one close to where the planes hit the.. thing in the ... big apple some years ago ... remember?

[wom122]

11:12 PM on 07/17/2011

This is an issue for the Canadians to decide but as far as we're concerned my vote would be to ban all forms of prayer, Muslim or otherwise, from public school.

[cdncommentator]

12:33 PM on 07/28/2011

Canadians (except for the school board concerned) have spoken. This practice should be banned. If students want to discretely pray during their recess time, fine, no problem. But to bring a particular imam, representing his own particular brand of Islam into the public system to take over a cafeteria is not right.

I'm sure some of the families in favour of this sort of thing would be pretty angry if the LGBT Mosque, led by a lesbian imam, showed up to conduct cafeteria prayers for the Muslims instead of the imam who is now there.

[Susan Schmidt Baker]

10:05 AM on 07/16/2011

This is a Canadian thing and as such Americans should have no say in it. We may not agree with it, but that's their business.

[ShabazII]

08:54 AM on 07/16/2011

I didn't use to like Howard before but he is really on the spot on this subject.

Howard Stern - Howard Talks About Religion, Muslims, & The Middle East
http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=yCBv6buGa­oY&feature­=related

[Jan Allen McDaniel]

08:26 PM on 07/15/2011

Sometimes, as in this case of school prayers, a secular Westerner is puzzled by the entitled attitude of the religious, especially Muslims. Well, that feeling of entitlement is more than just a personal attitude. It comes from Islamic dogma.

K. 22:64-65: "To Him belongs everything in the heavens and everything on earth. Absolutely, Allah is the Most Rich, Most Praiseworthy. Do you not see that Allah has committed in your service everything on earth? "

So Islam has clear title, from Allah himself, to everything. But how about Christians and Jews--People of the Book? Sorry, no.

Shamim A. Siddiqi:

"Islam was the Deen [the way of life] of all the Prophets of Islam from Adam - Abraham to Jesus [pbut]. It was neither Judaism nor Christianity [Yahudiyat or Nasraniyat]. All the prophets were the Prophets of God [Allah] and their Deen was "Islam" [obedience to God] to which they all invited the mankind to follow.

[...]

The Torah and the Bible were the "prescriptions" from God for human needs for their respective time. They could not be maintained intact in their original form and shape. So the Qur'an was revealed as the Book of Guidance for mankind."

http://themuslim.ca/2010/06/01/understanding-islam-in-historical-perspective/

So--if you have been given everything on Earth already, what's a school cafeteria?

[Abdul-Halim Vazquez]

10:36 AM on 07/16/2011

Sometimes, as in this case of school prayers, a secular Westerner is puzzled by the entitled attitude of the religious, especially Muslims. Well, that feeling of entitlemen­t is more than just a personal attitude. It comes from Islamic dogma..

Doesn't it also come from living in a country where freedom of religion is guaranteed in writing in the country's most important legal documents?

[altoplano]

01:48 PM on 07/16/2011

Freedom of religion does not mean you are exempt from following the law.

[cdncommentator]

12:38 PM on 07/28/2011

Freedom of religion means freedom to practise whatever you want in the private sphere, and reasonable accommodation to excuse your absences (from work, school, exams, court etc.) when your civic obligations fall at times you have religious ones. It does not mean you have the right to establish your religion in the public sphere.

That's what freedom of religion means. And it allows all citizens to be free to practise any religion, or no religion, of their choosing.

By establishing a religious tradition in a public school, you are trampling on the rights of others to be free from religious coercion (however slight) in a place citizen children are forced to attend.

[Joel Peter Elliott]

11:18 AM on 07/19/2011

"Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." - John 14:6.

Most religions have some exclusive claim to God. The assumption that Islam by its nature promotes some kind of world domination is profoundly ignorant, and completely ignores the historical/political conditions that the majority of Muslims live through.

Also -- in high school I was part of Christian groups that prayed in school all the time, it's really more a matter of whether you raise enough attention.

[Jan Allen McDaniel]

12:03 PM on 07/19/2011

The assumption that Islam by its nature promotes some kind of world domination is profoundly ignorant, and completely ignores the historical­/political conditions that the majority of Muslims live through.
==============

I can agree that one of us is profoundly ignorant of the nature of Islam.

If it is me, then I have some impressive company in my ignorance. Sheikh Yusuf Qaradawi:

"‘Alamiyya­t al-Islam, the principle in fiqh al-aqalliy­yat that declares Islam to be a global religion meant to encompass the entire world, provides the basis for answering these questions. The world is divided into two parts, separated only by time: the lands under Muslim rule and those which will eventually receive the Islamic dawa and come under Muslim rule. page 4

http://www.currenttrends.org/docLib/2006­1018_MonographFishman2.pdf

[Jan Allen McDaniel]

12:05 PM on 07/19/2011

Yusuf al-Qaradawi (Arabic: يوسف القرضاوي Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwiy‎; born September 9, 1926) is an Egyptian Islamic theologian.

He is best known for his programme, ash-Shariah wal-Hayat ("Shariah and Life"), broadcast on Al Jazeera, which has an estimated audience of 40 million worldwide.[1][non-primary source needed]

He is also well-known for IslamOnline, a popular website he helped found in 1997 and for which he now serves as chief religious scholar.[2] Al-Qaradawi has also published more than 80 books, including The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam and Islam: The Future Civilization.

He has also received eight international prizes for his contributions to Islamic scholarship,[3] and is considered one of the most influential such scholars living today.[1][4][5] Al-Qaradawi has long had a prominent role within the intellectual leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood,[6] an Egyptian political organization, but twice (in 1976 and 2004) turned down offers for the official role in the organization.[1][7]

A 2008 Foreign Policy magazine poll placed al-Qaradawi at number three on its list of the top 20 public intellectuals worldwide.[8]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yusuf_al-Qaradawi

[gingerred]

12:29 PM on 07/15/2011

The board noted that there have been no complaints about the arrangement until it was highlighted recently by a right-wing blogger.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So because it was SECRET it was ok? Because the thief doesn't get got there is no theft?

[frank day]

06:18 PM on 07/15/2011

What "theft" are you babbling about?

[gingerred]

06:32 PM on 07/15/2011

The idea that if you are Caught it isn't wrong!

[gingerred]

06:34 PM on 07/15/2011

Sorry I meant to say the idea that as long as you're NOT caught it isn't wrong!

[broui]

09:46 AM on 07/16/2011

No. People at this particular school had no beef with it.

Now that there is all the public attention from people who are not in that immediate community, they're hearing complaints. Pretty simple.

[gingerred]

10:26 AM on 07/16/2011

BUT it is NOT FAIR to the people at other schools in that district because I guarantee that if anyone of them had asked for a prayer of any kind for Any Group of non muslims they would have been denied and possibly arrested or fine for suggesting it. SO just because it is Secret IT ISN'T RIGHT.

[altoplano]

01:50 PM on 07/16/2011

I know. Society at large commenting on one of its own institutions. Imagine that.

[bobinette01]

09:54 AM on 07/15/2011

The article didn'y mention that girls have to enter the cafeteria by the back door and stay there. And the girls with their period are even more segretated...

[altoplano]

01:21 PM on 07/15/2011

And the prayers and sermon are in Arabic, with no monitoring by the school of what is actually being said.

But we are supposed to tolerate all of this because it is their religion.

[Abdul-Halim Vazquez]

03:26 PM on 07/15/2011

Why does the school need to monitor a religious service?

[Abdul-Halim Vazquez]

12:42 PM on 07/20/2011

That seems like a weird objection. If students want to misbehave and gossip, conspire, plot in Arabic without being understood that seems to be a TOTALLY seperate issue from religious observance. The Arab students are more likely to use Arabic to communicate outside of jummah.

Most sermons I've attended have an Arabic portion but are actually mostly in English.

It suggests that your problem is more cultural than religious.

[broui]

09:48 AM on 07/16/2011

Which sect of Islam are you referring to?

Because I could refer to sects of Christianity that are just as barbaric to women.

[bobinette01]

11:56 AM on 07/16/2011

Actually you're right, all religion are more or less the same, bigot, sexism, violence.... Just different names

The difference it's when you attack christian nobody care (and in Canada, if the christian is a Quebecker catholic, you're a hero) and i'm really fine with that. But when you criticize islam, you're the worst person on earth...

[elblanc0]

09:35 AM on 07/15/2011

You either have to make allowances for all belief systems (like recognizing Spaghetti Fridays for Pastafarians) or none. My vote, of course, would be use that time to actually learn something.

[altoplano]

08:55 PM on 07/15/2011

I fantasize about the day when all this garbage has been dealt with and we can work on making real progress for society.

[Christopher A Kountz]

03:06 AM on 07/15/2011

Well,that's not fare,I mean we all pray,or nobody prays,if the kids don't come back,then work out extra assignments then,and ask the parents to make sure they complete them.In other words please draw a line some where,that's even for all,not for some.If ya don't like it ya gotta build you're own school,its called freedom...If you give it enough time,were gonna have to accommodate some really weird religions soon,and some nut ball will show up soon,and sue you guys for not let them run around naked outside as they prey(yes my spelling is correct) on the children.

[MrTown3]

12:47 AM on 07/15/2011

It's Canada...next

[Talossa]

04:50 PM on 07/14/2011

As the story says: "The Muslim Canadian Congress has asked for the services to be halted or closely monitored to avert the spread of radicalism."

In other words, the issue of whether this is a question of religious freedom for Muslims is officially closed.

[Dave the Brave]

04:20 PM on 07/14/2011

The 21st century has turned out to be the most backwards, insane, inane and suicidally indifferent to rampant religious farce/hate/brainwashing of an entire generation century since the dark ages.

As we slip back into a (mainly Islamic fuelled) black hole of religious fanaticism...don't say some of us did not warn you.