MUSLIM state-funded schools must not allow religious teaching to overtake the curriculum and subjects to become gendered, one of Scotland's leading educationalists has said.

Professor Bob Davis said while there could be no principled objection to any new Muslim school, it would be required to satisfy the same criteria as all schools on the curriculum and "equality of access".

The former head of Glasgow University's school of education was speaking as a private primary announced it was bidding to become the country's first state-funded autonomous Muslim school.

His comments also come as the head of the country's largest mosque has claimed Scotland's Muslim community look with envy on the flourishing Catholic education sector and question why there is no state-funded Islamic school.

As revealed by The Herald, the Al-Qalam school in Glasgow has submitted a proposal to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to expand into secondary education with the help of public funding.

Under the plans the 60-pupil school would be funded by the state, but run by an independent board of governors outside council control.

Professor Davis, a specialist in cultural and religious education, said: "It would need to satisfy equality of access and opportunity and the provision of the full curriculum to all learners. Elsewhere Muslim schools have run into problems when the curriculum has been skewed with too much emphasis on faith or becomes gendered.

"If they can offer assurances this won't be the case then there's no issue."

Nabeel Shaikh, general secretary of the Glasgow Central Mosque, said there was an increasing desire for a school which was faith-based yet taught the national curriculum.

He said: "Lots of questions are raised over why there isn't any state-funded Muslim school. I live in East Renfrewshire which has great Catholic schools and where a new £13 million joint campus for Jewish and Catholic pupils.

"Considering the number of Muslim pupils around Glasgow. many ask why we don't have a faith-based school but where the national curriculum is taught. Pupils could freely practice their beliefs but the curriculum is predominantly secular."

But Ramin Forghani, vice chairman of the Scottish Secular Society, said: "There should be no place in a modern Scotland for schools that segregate gender, hinder sex education or restrict the curriculum by marginalising the arts.

"All too often, that is exactly what has been found to be happening.

"It makes sense for all state schools to be neutral on religion rather than for some belief groups to be awarded specialised schools."