A spokesman for the Muslim community in Ireland has called for radical change in the educational system to accommodate children with Islamic beliefs.
Dr Ali Selim, of the Islamic Cultural Centre in Dublin’s Clonskeagh and a lecturer in the Mater Dei Institute and Trinity College, has called for “a revolution of inclusivity” in Irish schools and “an upheaval in Irish educational perspectives”.
This was necessary to accommodate the needs of a society which is now “home to a variety of Christian denominations, as well as people of other faiths and of none”, he says in his book Islam and Education in Ireland, to be published next week.
[TOP RATED COMMENT] While I'm sure there will be many a knee jerk reaction to Dr Selim's statement, perhaps instead of condemning one particular faith it would be much more appropriate to remove religious ethos from all state schools. Religious ideology has no place in education in the modern world, it's a personal belief and should be practiced in private.
[SECOND] No. No. No. We need to get religion out of schools. Schools should teach facts not faith based fictions. The Islamic hoards in Iraq have the stated objective of taking over the world. They crave Armageddon and death.
There view of human sexuality is ill considered and based on the trash written in the desert 1,400 years ago and ignores human biology. No wonder his sexually frustrated IS brethren are raping every woman they can lay their hands on in Iraq and Syria. Ali get off the stage and take your twisted religion with you.
[THIRD] This is not about inclusivity at all ... this is about exclusivity! We are moving towards a secular society and this would be a major step backwards. All you need to look at is the trojan horse approach regarding islamic schools in Birmingham.
Under the guise of tolerance and inclusiveness unacceptable practices and teachings became core e.g students were shown fundamentalist videos and anti christian chanting in classes. Muslim immigrants need to adapt to our western way of life otherwise this whole multi cultural project breaks down.
[ANOTHER] With all due respect to Dr. Selim, these are not religious differences, they are societal differences. In our society, boys and girls integrate in school, play sport together, have physical contact, play music, and when they are old enough they receive sex education. These elements of our societal "norms" are not dictated or even guided by any religion or religious beliefs.
.... Can Dr. Selim tell me what are my chances of taking my family to Iran and insisting that my beliefs are accommodated when I put my children into an Islamic school? Impossible, of course. We would be obliged to adjust to the restrictive societal norms of that country and my daughters and I would be obliged to wear headscarves, even if I strongly believe they should not.
It's called integration.
[ANOTHER] From the steaming froth of my pint, listening to music and living in Ireland ... is this guy for real? I will head off to the Levant and preach the replacement their traditons for my atheism and iconography. Like ... bars in their Universities for example ... [THE IRISH TIMES] Read more
