The head of Muslim faith schools in Britain has called for the teaching of Judaism in the schools, echoing a call by Britain’s chief rabbi to teach Islam in Jewish schools.
Ashfaque Chowdhury, the chairman of Britain’s Association of Muslim Schools, said he will encourage member schools to teach students about Judaism, the JewishNews.co.uk website reported.
“We were hoping to recommend Catholicism and Judaism as we can complement the teaching by visits to each other’s schools and joint activities between students,” Chowdhury told the Jewish News last week. “We feel it will contribute to community cohesion, British values and interfaith relations.”
Days earlier, British Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis recommended that schools teach students Islam, according to the rabbi’s spokesman, who stressed the importance of understanding and building strong relationships with British Muslims. — jta