/// Abdul Hamid Quereshi, chairman of the Lancashire Council of Mosques said: “The headteacher is co-operating and the school wants to learn about the issue and address them appropriately. ///
/// “Different people have different variations of understanding. ///
/// “Some are newly interacting with the Muslim community and it is our duty not to put people in awkward positions.” ///
"“Children who turn up to school with red hair, inappropriate jewellery, false tan or make-up are isolated in a room until the matter is addressed and then they return to their normal day."
/Some are newly interacting with the Muslim community and it is our duty not to put people in awkward positions/
Perhaps the Muslim religious leaders could point out that the beard is not compulsory and that delaying strict adherence until the age of 18 is perfectly acceptable
These kind of rules are stupid. In the sixties and seventies some schools banned long hair. A few years later they were banning short hair. Then they tried to ban coloured hair. Now they ban extensions. All utterly bonkers.
In AOGs second link there is a teacher with a beard and rash (under the basket ball hoop). Will they ban him as well?
Beards are acceptable in life, so there is no reason for a ban. I think AOG is referring to the authorities caving in and allowing them like they did in the recent veil bans that were quickly rescinded. That is the U-turn in the question.
Idly wondering (it's the best kind) what the school would do with a Sikh youth. There may be some discussion about the need for Muslims to be unshaven, but there is none concerning Sikhs , for whom it is plainly a religious requirement.