REPRESENTATIVES OF the Muslim community in Ireland say their Friday prayer obligations should have been taken into account in the scheduling of Leaving Cert exams. This follows the State Examinations Commission’s (SEC) move to accommodate Jewish students whose beliefs precluded them from sitting the rescheduled English 2 paper on Saturday, which is the Jewish Sabbath.
Ali Selim, secretary to the Imam in the Islamic Cultural Centre’s mosque in Clonskeagh, Dublin, said consideration for Muslim students who wished to go to a mosque to pray between 1pm and 2pm on Friday would have been welcome.
“It would have been highly appreciated by the Muslim community if they were allowed to pray during the time.
“It would have appeared to be more inclusive if the timing of the exam avoided clashes of timing with rituals. It’s an experience that we might learn from in the future.”
Mr Selim said he had no plans to pursue the matter with the commission.
However, the commission has confirmed that it had “received some communication on the issue” from a representative of an organisation which is called the Muslim Public Affairs Committee, Ireland.
A spokeswoman for the commission said it had no further comment to make at this time.
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