I see no reason why Islam should not be taught to Muslim children in Maltese State schools. The irrational fear of contamination that seems to have gripped many parents is just that, and rather reminds me of the scourge of tropical diseases that was predicted to devastate schools when African pupils first made an appearance some years ago.

The matter is primarily about the politics of education. There is nothing that is new or particularly troubling about it. All educational systems have to deal with matters of difference (of gender, class, religion, character and so on) all the time. That’s because public schooling brings children from different backgrounds together for several hours a day and sets about teaching them much the same things. This latest debate is normal and ought to proceed as such.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the teaching of religion produces mixed results. I went to school at a Jesuit college where to breathe was to do religion. Statues were everywhere, Mass was mandatory every morning at seven, and the exploits of Philip of Macedon and the structure of carbon came sandwiched between Hail Marys.

The outcome of all the piety was not exactly a terracotta army of plainclothes Swiss guards. It was men whose religious lives are indistinguishable from those of people in general. A St Aloysius old boy is just as likely to turn the other cheek, say the Rosary, blaspheme, or covet other people’s wives, as anyone else.

Whether that means that the Jesuits succeeded or failed is a moot point. (I’m inclined to think the former.) The argument is, however, that teaching religion in schools is not a recipe for sectarian disaster. On the contrary, the drift is that religion is part of life one learns to live with and get on with the rest.

Which brings us to practical things. First, the blessed Constitution, which some seem to think makes it a capital offence for true Maltese to be anything but Catholic. The Constitution has this to say about the teaching of religion in schools: “Religious teaching of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Faith shall be provided in all State schools as part of compulsory education”.

The second part of that is history. Religion is no longer part of a compulsory education, simply because children may opt out and learn ethics instead. Ethics is no more a substitute for religion than is geography, or social studies. It is not, as someone once said, Christianity minus the mumbo-jumbo. The upshot is that freedom of worship has effectively trumped the bit in the Constitution about compulsory education.

Schools could have spaces where children can experience faith, according to their background

The Constitution also tells us that religious teaching of the Roman Catholic faith shall be provided. It doesn’t say that religious teaching of other faiths shall not be provided. The tricky bit is whether it should be provided by the State. In other words, whether there should be a national curriculum, teacher training, Matsec exams and timetabled lessons in Islam.

I don’t think so. For starters, it is not clear which kind of Islam would be taught. Unlike Catholicism, Islam is not centralised in a formal Church ruled over by a supreme pontiff. Besides, the outlay and infrastructure that would be needed to establish Islam as a subject make the whole thing impractical, not least since other faiths would have a right to similar arrangements.

I also think the Constitution would have to be changed. (No great matter there, I’m just saying.) As is, the Constitution states that the religion of Malta is Roman Catholicism. Given that one of the aims of the national curriculum is to make citizens, I cannot imagine a curriculum that pushes a religion other than Catholicism.

My argument thus far is that there is no reason why Islam should not be taught to Muslim children in Maltese State schools, but that it would be unwieldy for it to be taught as a formal subject, by the State.

I know many people who think the same. Most go on to conclude that the only solution is for schools to become godless altogether – if you can’t teach them all, teach none, so to say. I don’t like the idea of prescriptively-godless schools. I have argued that the presence of religion in schools teaches children to live with faith as part of daily experience, in one way or another.

There’s a more intrinsic reason, too. Readers will pardon the platitude, but humans have no choice but to be spiritual. Very many people live that spirituality through their faith, and that’s not something I’d want school to turn its back on. I suppose the whole point of education is to encourage children to explore and make individual choices about science, art, faith and all the things that make up the human experience.

The solution is not godless schools, but rather schools where God has a place. I mean that literally. Schools could have spaces where children can experience faith, according to their background.

In practice this means that imams, priests, gurus and whoever else would be welcome to go to schools and teach their religion in spaces set apart for the purpose. Religious images and symbols would be welcome to coexist. Corradino has a church and a mosque, right opposite each another. Christians go to former and Muslims to the latter, and no one is upset or offended. I don’t see why schools should be any different.

Children do not have the right to be taught their religion in State schools, by the State. Given the diversity of faiths, that right is quite simply impracticable. The concept of a national curriculum has its limits and this one is well beyond them. It doesn’t make sense for any one religion to be part of a single and unifying national curriculum.

It does, however, make sense for the State to find room for the experience of faith in its schools, if and as required.

mafalzon@hotmail.com

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