AN independent school is to change its school rules to allow Muslim pupils to wear headscarves, following a five-month campaign by a former pupil.
The chairman of the board of governors at Craigholme School, an all-girls school on the south side of Glasgow, made the decision after a meeting with the imam of the Central Mosque in Glasgow, who explained the religious significance of the headscarf, or hijab.
During the meeting, the chairman agreed that the school had both a moral and legal obligation to lift the ban on hijabs at the school, which one parent said made Muslim pupils feel like ''aliens''.
The change will be written into the school rules at the next meeting of the board before letters are sent to parents detailing the new policy.
The issue came to a head last month, when The Herald revealed that Noreen Iqbal, a former pupil at the school, had been campaigning for several months for a change in Craigholme's school uniform policy, without success.
No-one from the school could be reached last night, but Abdul Ahmad, imam at the Glasgow Central Mosque, in the Gorbals, confirmed that the meeting had taken place.
He described it as ''very positive'' and said that he was sure that the school would have resolved the issue in time, even without Ms Iqbal's campaign.
''The mosque doesn't want to impose anything either on the school or on the parents, but we recommended that those who wished to cover themselves should be allowed to do so because our religion teaches modesty,'' Mr Ahmad said.
''I think that we all agreed that we are living in a multi-cultural and multi-ethnic society, and so compromises sometimes have to be made.''
Ms Iqbal, 21, now a law student at Glasgow University, described the news as ''wonderful'', and said: ''Obviously this was the end result that we wanted and I am really pleased that the school has finally realised how important this issue is to us.
''This problem has been going on for so many years and when the school was put under pressure, they decided to arrange this meeting with the imam.
''After the meeting, the chairman said it was obvious that he would have to incorporate this into the school rules. They have still to get back to the board and officially issue something on this, but I am really pleased that the chairman said the rules would be changed.''
Shaaista Yousaf, whose 13-year-old daughter attends the school, said she was delighted about the decision and hoped that the school would also change its policy on the wearing of shorts during games.
Many Muslim pupils feel uncomfortable showing their legs, as Islamic law requires that they are completely covered.
Mrs Yousaf said: ''I heard about the meeting with the imam and it is really looking positive now. This decision is really good news, it is the best outcome we could have hoped for.
''Hopefully now they will take on board the issue of the shorts and create an environment in which all the pupils feel comfortable.''
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