Faith vs school rules

Students and teachers should abide by the convention of the faith of the institutions they attend.

Weighing in on the matter of the Muslim OJT teacher, Nafisah Nakhid, who chose not to take a job at Lakshmi Girls Hindu College in St Augustine rather than remove her hijab to teach, former chairman of the Equal Opportunity Commission, Professor John La Guerre said there was a difference between wearing religious garb or symbols in everyday life and respect for other religious institutions.

“For example, if you belong to some organisation that has the bikini as a form of religious dress, you can not go with that into a Catholic church. So I think there should be a more rigid definition of what really constitutes freedom of religion, which makes it a constitutional issue.”

La Guerre said he expected that any institution run by a religious body, in this case the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), would have a religious code when in came to dress and conduct.

He said there were different contexts in which some Muslim women wear hijabs, as is the case with symbols of other religions, and these rules and contexts could change. He recalled a time Muslim women were not allowed in the mosques at all but now thing were different.

“I think while the Constitution may guarantee freedom of worship and freedom of religion, a lot depends on how we define the religion and what respect one must have for religious codes and institutions.”

He said the Concordat gave the Government the right to send 80 per cent of their students to denominational schools.

However, if the State wanted more of a partnership with the schools and revisit the Concordat, it would have to decide on and properly define its educational policy because “there would be instances where there would be collisions between the goals and perspectives of one body as against the other.”

On the other hand, former president of the TT Unified Teachers’ Association, Trevor Oliver, said he did not see the big deal although he felt Nakhid was discriminated against.

“I believe it is a violation of the teacher’s rights. There wasn’t anything covering her face or anything, she was neatly dressed, so I don’t know why this should come up. It seems to be a little bit of bigotry.”

He said the woman was a teacher, not a student and that made a difference. He said while students had to wear uniforms and were supposed to conform, teachers were usually allowed to dress how they wanted as long as they were neat and decent.

“Sat (Maharaj, SDMS general secretary) and they could probably look at their rules and see if it infringes on people’s constitutional rights. But on the face of it, I found it was odd. In a multi-cultural society where we are seeking at this time to bring some kind of unity between the races and people understanding each other’s culture, I find it’s an off time for something like that to happen. We have to be a more tolerant society.”

Similarly, Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon said while an individual should be respected, each group, as well as the whole society should also be respected. Therefore he said “a deep discourse” was necessary to determine whether or not we wish to be a unified society that respected and accepted each others religions and religious practices.

Speaking to members of the media on Thursday after a Corpus Christi celebration in Port of Spain, he said the situation was only being seen in one direction at the moment but all sides should be taken into consideration across all denominational schools.

“If we’re going to be fair, let’s be fair to everybody please... These are the issues that creates the tension... That’s going to take us some time and some work but I think it’s possible because we are the kind of society that has done that kind of work before.”

However, earlier this week, Nafeesa Mohammed, president of the San Juan Muslim Ladies Organisation, said the group would stand firmly with Nakhid. She said while the group recognised the right of school boards to crate and implement their own policies, it believed wearing a hijab should be a non-issue as it was part of Muslims’ right to freedom of worship.

She called on all parties concerned to meet and resolve this issue. “It is just that this whole debate about the board and policy and all of that, they can easily sit down and work it out. I feel saddened that we have to descend into this kind of debate when there are so many other pressing issues in our society. It is our right as Muslims to practise our religion, it is a right that is recognised in our Constitution.”

The occurrence, subsequent discussions, and threat of legal action led Maharaj to the conclusion that the situation was a ploy to distract and “destabilise” the students of Lakshmi Girls who were in contention for the President’s Medal.

Speaking with reporters after the SDMS’ annual Indian Arrival Day celebration at Parvati Girls Hindu College in Debe, Maharaj said there were teachers of various races and religions who helped draft the school’s code of conduct. He said anyone accepted to teach at the school had to conform. He also decided that the college would no longer be training teachers.

“So somebody comes out of the blue and tells us we must change whatever we are doing, so as to train her? Give me a break! Our arrangement with the (Education) ministry is to deliver a curriculum to children, not to train teachers and we have drawn the line. We are not training any teachers again.”

He added that the SDMS was prepared to go to the Privy Council in London and let it decide whether or not the SDMS was wrong to tell Nakhid she could not teach at their school with her hijab.