Sputnik - Despite one of Britain�s top primary schools calling for the government to take a firm stand on pupils wearing hijabs and fasting, it is still left to be seen if there will be national guidelines on these issues.




The Sunday Times has reported�that the highly ranked St Stephen's primary school, in�Newham, East London, has banned its pupils from�wearing hijabs and fasting on�school premises. The school authorities said it shouldn�t be their job to�determine policies over�matters of�security and health, complaining that they consequently face backlash from�parents.



Also FYI, because this sch has banned young children wearing the hijab, as�it apparently �hinders movement� then what�s the schools stance on�young boys wearing the turban? Does that hinder their movement too? Or is the agenda behind�this ban only focused on�Muslims??



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For instance, as�the school, which ranks high in�the latest rating of�the Office for�Standards in�Education (Ofsted) outlawed fasting in�the school camps during�summer exams, moms and dads of�the young Muslim pupils became infuriated pointing to�the fact that devout believers spend as�much as�around 18 hours a day on�little if any food. The school authorities were then held responsible citing that they were in�charge of�the kids� health.

Arif Qawi, chairman of�governors at�St Stephen's, said it was a big issue as�some youngsters at�St Stephen's and other schools were reported to�be fasting from�as young as�eight or nine, despite�generally accepted views that Muslims should only fast starting from�their teens. He said the same concerns headscarves. �It should not be our decision. It is unfair to�teachers and very unfair to�governors. We are unpaid. Why should we get the backlash?" Qawi asked rhetorically.

It earlier emerged that Ofsted recommended UK educational inspectors to�question Muslim primary school girls if they are wearing a Hijab�� a move condemned as "kneejerk, discriminatory and institutionally racist" by�roughly over�1,000 teachers, academics and faith leaders. The move came amid�a string of�events following�the scandalous so-called "Trojan horse" plot, which turned out�to be fake, but�raised a lot of�controversy around�a possibility of�fomenting extremism in�British schools.