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Islamic College bans Australian National Anthem
A BRISBANE school that banned the national anthem at assemblies says it will review the policy and that it loves the values embodied in the song. Australian International Islamic College teacher Pravin Chand was sacked in November, four months after his proposal for students to sing Advance Australia Fair was ruled to be against the "Islamic view and ethos".A memo sent to teachers at the Durack school in July and obtained by The Courier-Mail, also said "the singing of the anthem will be put on hold". But school trustee Keysar Trad said news the anthem was not played regularly at school assemblies came as a shock. Mr Trad said the anthem was performed at every major school function but was removed from daily assemblies by the principal without the endorsement of the school board. Trustees and the board would meet to discuss performing the anthem at every school assembly, he said. "My personal recommendation is that it be performed at every assembly," he said. Mr Trad said the students were proud to sing the anthem and were known locally for their performance of it. "Personally, I love the content because it's full of these wonderful words which reflect values that we all share," he said. The revelations follow an outcry on the Gold Coast this week at a plan by the same college to open another campus at Carrara. A vocal crowd draped in Australian flags accused the college of promoting segregation, anti-Australian values and even terrorism. Muslim leaders slammed the protests as "un-Australian" and claimed religion should not be used as a reason to protest against a school. But Mr Chand, whose version of events was backed by a second teacher, said he had not heard the anthem once this year. "No national anthem to me means no integration with Australian kids," Mr Chand said. "Western values (at the school) are a no-no. "It's like a paramilitary camp that place." Mr Chand's employment was terminated by the college board last month on the grounds he was "not fitting into the school's ethos". Outgoing principal Azroul Liza Khalid, who started at the school in July, said she had not heard the anthem once at assembly, although it was played two or three other times. Ms Khalid said she was told by a board member not to play the anthem or any songs on Friday because it was a holy day. In July, school assembly day was moved from Monday to Friday. A spokeswoman for Queensland Education Minister Rod Welford indicated it was unlikely a public school had banned the national anthem. "It's not compulsory for schools to play the national anthem," she said. "There's an expectation it would be played on formal occasions when the Australian flag is being raised." The future of the proposed 60-student college at Carrara will be decided by Gold Coast City Council next year. Posted by: Oztralian 2008-12-05 |
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