The headteacher of a school fighting a legal challenge over its decision to ban prayer rituals says it is “taking a massive toll”.
Staff are “too terrified” to travel alone following death threats and a bomb scare, revealed Katharine Birbalsingh.
One teacher’s house was broken into and a brick thrown through the window of another, she added.
The legal challenge began after 30 of the 700 pupils at Michaela Community School in Brent, North London, began prayer rituals in the playground. A demand for a prayer room was made, followed by an online petition and a “vitriolic campaign of abuse, harassment and threats” against staff, said Ms Birbalsingh.
“We got death threats, a bomb threat, the police swept the building. Nothing was found. My staff were threatened, bottles were thrown into the yard. One of my teachers, a brick was thrown through her window at home; one had an attempted break-in,” she said.
The high-achieving free school banned prayer rituals “to fulfil its mission of promoting integration between pupils of different backgrounds and religions”. Half of pupils are Muslim.
Ms Birbalsingh told the Sunday Times: “If a school is secular, it ought to be allowed to be secular.”
“All my teachers and I are trying to do is run a successful school and make the world a better place.” But it faced a High Court challenge from a Muslim student who said the ban was discriminatory and “uniquely” affected her faith. The girl, who cannot be named, claimed it was “the kind of discrimination which makes religious minorities feel alienated from society”.
Her lawyers said she is making a “modest” request to be allowed to pray for five minutes at lunchtime, on dates when faith rules required it.
The two-day hearing in London ended last Wednesday, with Mr Justice Linden saying he would deliver his ruling “as quickly as possible”.
Ms Birbalsingh said the school will “definitely appeal if we lose”, adding: “I will not divide children according to race and religion.”
