Two Muslim schoolboys have been barred from classes because they will not shave off their beards.

Both 14-year-olds were placed in "isolation" from the start of the new term at Mount Carmel Roman Catholic high school in Accrington, Lancashire.

The headteacher said the matter was not one of religion but about dress code. Xavier Bowers told the Lancashire Evening Telegraph: "We have not taken this decision lightly. I have spent quite a lot of time researching the issue and speaking to Muslim elders.

"There is nothing specifically written in the Qur'an about wearing a beard. It is a choice those boys are making. However inclusive we are, we have standards to maintain."

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/03/muslim-boys-beards-breach-school-rules

This topic (which, by the way, has nothing whatsoever to do with whether the school is Catholic or not) goes with the question of whether Muslim women should be allowed to wear a full veil in public.

I think the issue has become very simple. Either we let Muslims impose their wishes on the British people, or we don't. If they come to our country, they should abide by our rules; if we go to theirs, we should abide by their rules. After all, I can't buy a beer in Brunei!

This is not just about'If they come to our country, they should abide by our rules'.

In the UK there is no law about beards - there is no law about veils.

In this particular instance the school dress-code requires that male pupils are clean shaven. If these boys wish to grow beards, then they should leave the school. If face fungus is more important to them than a good education, so be it.

I note that this is a Roman Catholic school and, although IB considers this not to be relevant, I do consider it relevant, in that the parents of the boys seem to have the opinion that a good education is more useful than religious ritual. Thus this seems to be a capricious idea of two teenagers, rather than the religious devotion of a family culture.

Unless, of course the kids were sent there to promote an argument and claim of religious discrimination.

I said that the fact that it was a Catholic school was not relevant as there is no evidence given that the Muslim boys were expected to attend religious classes or services.

The attendance of these boys at this school may indeed be a deliberate act of provocation. The Headmaster seems to have done his homework, though.

We were not allowed to turn up at our Grammar School; with a 6 o'clock shadow 2 days running. We'd be sent home, The head should have sorted this a lot sooner.

In Thailand, I know of grown men who have been fired from teaching for having facial hair.

In Thailand, I know of grown men who have been fired from teaching for having facial hair.

wearing beard wigs?

There's a few Muslim schoolboys who walk past my house on the way to school in the morning. During the summer they grow quite a creditable covering of fluff but as soon as autumn comes around the wind blows it all off again

In Thailand, I know of grown men who have been fired from teaching for having facial hair.

wearing beard wigs?

No, but it has included a teacher with a mustache, one with a goatee and one one with a beard.

But that is in Thailand.

There's a few Muslim schoolboys who walk past my house on the way to school in the morning. During the summer they grow quite a creditable covering of fluff but as soon as autumn comes around the wind blows it all off again

I've been thinking about this a little.

Although mainstream Islam (and the Koran) has no requirement for beard-growing, there are various strictures on hair-cutting in several religions.

In the Old Testament it is forbidden to cut the hair 'at the corners', thus Hasidic Jews have the side-locks and beards.

Sikhism requires that the hair is not cut - thus top-knots for male children and beards and hairnets for adults (men, of course).

Similarly there are a few sects in Islam, such as the Wahabbi, who also favour beards.

But although the first two of these religious groups can point to the written word of their particular religion, the Muslims do it out of tradition rather than obedience to the sacred word.

A school uniform, like it or not, maintains a common identifier for it's pupils, I suppose you could argue it fosters a group identity. Pupils, especially rebellious ones, will always try to push the boundaries of what they can get away with, in which cases they are quite rightly brought back into line when they cross it. To argue for any exemption on so called religious grounds is both a divisive and political act which should not be tolerated.

A school uniform, like it or not, maintains a common identifier for it's pupils, I suppose you could argue it fosters a group identity. Pupils, especially rebellious ones, will always try to push the boundaries of what they can get away with, in which cases they are quite rightly brought back into line when they cross it. To argue for any exemption on so called religious grounds is both a divisive and political act which should not be tolerated.

And who blew the whistle? The Guardian, Dan.

As long as schoolgirls aint sporting moustaches society will survive I think.