|
|
French Court Backs Muslim School
Lyon,March 21 (Islamic Voice)A French court in Lyon has overturned a decision by the city’s top educational authority to close a Muslim secondary school. “Justice is served,� the school’s principal Nazir Hakim said. The school’s administration had decried the closure decision as indicative of rising Islamophobia in France. The school is to open three classes by March 2007 and will mainly teach state curricula in addition to Quran, jurisprudence, Islamic civilization and history. Private Muslim schools are an urgent demand by many Muslim families in France, especially after the state banned hijab and religious symbols at public schools. In July 2003, the French government approved the establishment of Ibn Rushd school in Lille, which became the first secondary Muslim school in France. France is home to some six to seven million Muslims, the largest Muslim minority in Europe.


