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School U-turns on halal Christmas menu
Parents have forced a comprehensive school to back down over plans to offer only halal chicken on its Christmas dinner menu. Pupils will now also have the option of traditional turkey with trimmings as a choice after the intervention of a former Government minister.The dispute arose at Oakwood School, in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, amid claims that the British festive season was being undermined. Around one in five of the 1,000 boys and girls is Asian and the school says its initial decision had been made to bring "a spirit of inclusion" to the Christmas meal. Rachel Johnson, who has two teenage daughters at the school, explained that objections had been raised "as a matter of principle" and not a racial issue. She said: "It has really rocked my boat because I feel my culture is being stolen away from me. "I have no objection to halal meat being on the menu so long as there is a choice of traditional Christmas fare. "A lot of parents have been in touch supporting my views. Our culture and religion are being trampled on and it is not right." The £1.75p Christmas dinner is made available for pupils as a treat in place of the usual school menu. Under the original proposal there would have been an option of sausages wrapped in bacon alongside the halal chicken. Mrs Johnson said: "Why can't the non-Muslim kids enjoy traditional Christmas fare. Why can't we have a choice of chicken which suits everyone, both Muslims and non-Muslims. We bend over backwards at Eid to eat traditional Muslim food so why should we have to change our Christmas tradition? "This is a multi-racial, multi-religious school and should be catering for the needs of everyone, not just the Muslim section." Her 15-year-old daughter, who asked not to be named, had been thinking of boycotting the Christmas meal along with many of her friends if no choice was offered. She said: "I have no objection to including Muslims in celebrating Christmas but it is quite wrong to offer us only halal meat." Posted by: wonderer 2006-11-17 |
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