This is a great idea, because muslims are so tolerant in allowing Christianity to flourish in their countries. That is, if you forget the arrests, torture and executions of converts from islam to Christianity, and the persecution of non-muslims in general.

Muslim prayer rooms should be opened in Catholic schools, say church leaders

Muslim prayer rooms should be opened in every Roman Catholic school, church leaders have said.

The Catholic bishops of England and Wales also want facilities in schools for Islamic pre-prayer washing rituals.

The demands go way beyond legal requirements on catering for religious minorities.

But the bishops – who acknowledge 30 per cent of pupils at their schools hold a non-Christian faith – want to answer critics who say religious schools sow division.

Bishops want prayer rooms opened in every Roman Catholic school (file photo)

The recommendations were made in a document, Catholic Schools, Children of Other Faiths and Community Cohesion.

‘If practicable, a room (or rooms) might be made available for the use of pupils and staff from other faiths for prayer,’ the bishops said.

‘Existing toilet facilities might be adapted to accommodate individual ritual cleansing which is sometimes part of religious lifestyle and worship.

‘If such space is not available on a permanent or regular basis, extra efforts might be made to address such need for major religious festivals.’

The Islamic cleansing ritual, called ‘Wudhu’, is carried out by Muslims before they pray.

Islam teaches that Muslims are unfit for prayer if they have not performed Wudhu after breaking wind or using the toilet.

Wudhu involves washing the face, hands, arms and feet three times each, gargling the mouth three times and washing the neck and inside the nose and ears. Some Muslims also wash their private parts.

Catholic schools would need to install bidets, foot spas and hoses to facilitate such extensive cleansing rituals, Muslims say.

Daphne McLeod, a former Catholic head teacher from south London, said it would be ‘terribly expensive’ for the country’s 2,300 Catholic primary and secondary schools to provide ritual cleansing facilities.

She said: ‘If Muslim parents choose a Catholic school then they accept that it is going to be a Catholic school and there will not be facilities for ritual cleansing and prayer rooms.

Rest of article.