LJ-SEC: (ORIGINALLY POSTED BY the_methotaku)

This article is interesting, to say the least

The Howard County Board of Education is considering a policy that could effectively prohibit Muslim students from leaving school early for Friday afternoon prayers.

The measure, which will be the subject of a public hearing Tuesday, would allow students to miss class for prayer only if the services are held in school. Currently, some Muslim students are allowed to leave school on Friday afternoons to pray with a congregation.

“We just want the situation to continue the way it is,” said Anwer Hasan, president of the Maryland Muslim Council. “I don’t know what’s the reason for changing it now.”

Hasan said it would be very difficult to arrange congregational prayer services on campus for Muslim students.

The current policy does not allow students to miss class for any reason except official holidays, but school officials said that the rule has been applied inconsistently and that some students routinely leave school early on Friday afternoons to pray.

The new policy would expand opportunities for religious observance because, for the first time, it would allow students to miss 30 minutes of class each week for religious observances conducted in school.

I found this piece on titusonenine, the personal blog of a dominionist Episcopalian priest. His commentators were torn on weather or not forcing Moslem students to pray in school rather then letting them out early on fridays to go to a mosque is a good thing.

I say that it's bad all way round, violating both the student's freedom of religion and the separation of church and state. I say either let the Moslem students go to their mosques, or force them to stay in class with everyone else.