Muslim Students Forced To Pray Outside In The Rain And Snow

Muslim students at a school in Yorkshire are being forced to go outside in the rain and snow to pray, parents have claimed.

Youngsters say they are being forced at Mirfield Free Grammar School and Sixth Form in Mirfield, West Yorkshire, to carry out their regular worship in freezing temperatures.

They claim that school bosses have refused them permission to pray indoors.

Images have also emerged which appear to show them being forced to pray on the concrete playground and grass verges.

Their families claim the issue has been ongoing since October 2014, when the use of a school hall was withdrawn.

Parents are now weighing up legal action.

Akooji Badat, chair of the Masjid and Madressa Noor-Ul-Islam mosque in nearby Batley, where many of the youngsters worship, said the school must apologise.

Mr Badat said: "One way or another, we will sort this matter out. In all other schools and major venues - hospitals, shopping centres - the facility is there for people of all faiths to use.

"For children to be made to go outside in horrible conditions is surely wrong in anybody's eyes.

"It has acted disgracefully. I am hearing from parents that children have been soaked to the skin and cannot concentrate in lessons.

"This is the second winter in a row now. We have tried everything from handing over a petition signed by 70 pupils, hosting inter-faith meetings and talking to local politicians, but the school refuses to budge.

"It is not unreasonable to ask for the children to be able to pray indoors, like they used to.

"We would actually be willing to help the school by fundraising to enable the school to provide such facilities if cost is an issue."

And parents are considering legal action.

Solicitor Yunus Lunat, from Leeds law firm Ison Harrison, said he had taken up the case on behalf of a number of families.

Mr Lunat said: "The students are not asking for anything that is outside the scope of the law.

"If I was an employer that is what I'd be questioning the children's welfare.

"The parents and students are keen to stress that they wish to act within the law and are anxious to avoid any negative ramifications or reporting.

"It is a situation that should be managed and should never have reached this stage.

"The families have tried to solve this amicably with the school for over a year now. They have come to me as a last resort.

"The school is adamant that it meets the requirements of the Equality Act. I have written to the school asking them one question: how?

"That was two weeks ago and I have heard nothing back. Seeing as they have been insisting to everyone for more than a year that they are acting within the law, it should not be too difficult for them to provide an explanation.

"There are children being disciplined for carrying out their obligatory prayers. Some of them are on final warnings.

"There are children preparing for GCSE and A-level exams. They are not getting the best preparation possible and parents are concerned at the possible effect on results.

"Even those who pray outside - some are going outside the perimeter of the school to use the roadside - are being disciplined. It's overzealous and oppressive."

Mr Lunat said: "I am shocked and concerned because that has no relevance at all to what is going on here. This is simply about children being allowed to offer their prayers in peace, without interference or threat."

Exemptions have been made to allow sixth form students to use the town's House of Resurrection monastery, but this has meant some children being out of school for up to an hour to make the three mile-round trip.

Mr Lunat said: "The last thing the parents and students want is for this to affect their studies."