Muslims on Education - A Position Paper

In this paper, we address the education system in the UK for pupils aged 5 to 16. We use the term ‘Muslim School’ to describe a school that seeks to promote an overtly Islamic education for its pupils. This is in distinction to schools with a large number of Muslims or indeed those that provide education that is acceptable to Muslims, both of which we have classified as ‘Non-Muslim Schools’. In no way is this a derogatory distinction between the two.It is recognised that as with all religions, the adherent must be distinguished from the religion itself. However, we use the descriptive term ‘Muslim’to encompass not only practising adherents of Islam, but also those who identify themselves as such (without necessarily being practising) or who belong to a household or family that holds Islam as its descendant faith.