A Labour government will waive a €400,000 loan to the Muslim school Mariam al-Batool, Joseph Muscat pledged this afternoon.

The Labour leader was speaking to members of the Muslim community after Friday prayers at the Mosque in Paola.

Dr Muscat said the school, which faced financial difficulties during the Libya crisis, was not only in the party's heart and mind but also in its electoral manifesto.

Mariam al-Batool is the only Muslim school to offer primary and secondary education and is run by a Roman Catholic headmistress. It got a special mention in Labour's manifesto with a pledge for help.

Dr Muscat told the Muslim community that the loan will be considered an investment in the school. "It will be a great loss for Malta if this school closes down."

Some days ago Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi also visited the Mosque and pledged to waive the Muslim school's loan.

In an indirect jibe at Dr Gonzi's pledge, the Labour leader told those gathered that what he was telling them inside the Mosque, the Labour Party had communicated to the rest of the country through its manifesto.

Playing on the campaign's keynote message - unity - Dr Muscat started by addressing the crowd, made up mostly of young men, with the words "Maltese friends". He said Malta belonged to people of different faiths and the Labour Party had etched this in its principles when these were reviewed in 2008.

Dr Muscat said a Labour government will set up a consultative council for foreign communities in Malta to achieve constant dialogue.

However, he was non-committal on a wish list read out by Imam Mohammed El Saadi that included a request for Muslim women to be allowed to wear the hijab at their place of work and in schools.

He also asked for an adjacent piece of land to be given to the school for expansion and Muslims to be given their religious holidays.

The Imam also called for Muslims to be allowed a two hour break on Fridays to fulfill their obligation to pray and for Muslim children in Government schools to be given the opportunity to get their religious education there.

The Imam made it a point to stress that within the Muslim community there were people who supported different political parties and it was not up to him to tell them how to vote.