Pandering to religious indoctrination and brainwashing
The Mount Carmel Roman Catholic high school in Accrington, Lancashire has done a U-turn on its ruling which had initially barred two 14-year old Muslim boys from class because they would not shave off their beards, in accordance with the school rules.
Stating the need to comply with the European Convention on Human Rights the school has now said that an exception will now be made for only Muslim boys. Clearly this is discrimination against all non-Muslims, so it is bizarre that the ECHR is invoked. However, there are more fundamental issues of relevance here.
When making the decision the school considered points such as:
“There is nothing specifically written in the Qur’an about wearing a beard. It is a choice those boys are making.”
“The school is advised that it is part of Muslim tradition and religious belief that a beard is a sign of commitment to the Islamic faith but it is ultimately down to personal belief.”
“Governors have taken the decision to only allow Muslim boys permission to grow a beard as a sign of their faith as long as they have started the Hafiz programme [an extensive programme that involves attending Mosque for 2-3 hours a day to pray and learn the Koran word by word in Arabic.]“
The school is completely missing the point, which is, why is religion even considered as a special case?
Demands made as a result of freely-chosen religious beliefs should have no more standing than politics, or affiliation to a football team, or stamp collecting.
If the pupils in question are being compelled to follow the rules of religion then there lies the problem, and the school, by kowtowing to the dogma are accessories to the abuse and coercion of children.
Article 9.1 of the ECHR says,
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion
but there is a conflict here, as freedom of thought is not compatible with freedom of religion. Adults may, of course, believe whatever they want, but when it comes to children the imposition of religious beliefs is a violation of their freedom of thought, and that should take precedence until the age where they are deemed able to make up their own minds free of social pressure and coercion.
Let’s get real and see this decision for what it really is, endorsement of beliefs derived from ancient myths rather than reality; beliefs made up by primitive people ignorant of how the world operates, and based upon a supernatural worldview unsubstantiated by evidence or any rational process understanding reality.
