Faizel Patel, Radio Islam News – 25-10-2018
Social Cohesion Advocate Yusuf Abramjee says the time has come for both public and private schools to stop targeting Muslim students.
Abramjee was speaking to Radio Islam on Wednesday following allegations that Ashton International College in Benoni refused to allow a pupil to grow his beard as part of his Islamic practices.
This comes after an incident at Jeppe High School for girls last month where a group of Muslim pupils were threatened with disciplinary actions for wearing hijabs with their school uniform.
Abramjee says a legal opinion by the Department of Basic Education unanimously agrees that both public and private schools cannot discriminate against Muslim students.
He says school policy cannot undermine the law or the constitution.
“The time has now come, we are sick and tired of schools discriminating against Muslim students. We are sick and tired of the Islamophobia and if they keep on insisting that we don’t grow beards and don’t wear headscarves and hijab and if the department fails to act we will have no choice but to go to the constitutional court to make sure that they abide by the law.”
Abramjee says school governing bodies should be diverse and have members of all religious groups.
“It needs to represent the school population.”
Abramjee has appealed to the Jamiatul Ulama South Africa to start a campaign against discrimination against Muslim students.
Listen to the interview with Yusuf Abramjee
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