In Scotland, move to make Catholic school Muslim sparks controversy

Published: 2006-02-10

GLASGOW, Scotland (CNS) -- St. Albert's Primary School in Pollokshields, a south Glasgow suburb, is a Catholic school where the day starts with the Lord's Prayer and once a month Mass is celebrated -- and three-quarters of its students are Muslim. At 3 p.m., when the school doors burst open and children swarm out, most are met by mothers swathed in black, their heads, and even their faces, veiled. In January, the Campaign for Muslim Schools -- a coalition of Glasgow mosques and Islamic organizations -- called for the school to switch religions, sparking controversy. While England has five state-funded Muslim schools and the government plans to bring another 100 private schools into the state sector, Scotland has no Muslim schools, either state-funded or private. The Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Catholic Education Service, established by the Bishops' Conference of Scotland, said there is no prospect of St. Albert's ceasing to be a Catholic school. But Osama Saeed, spokesman for the campaign, said there is strong support among parents for the proposal, and the campaign will continue.

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