Magic versus Christianity is the scenario in Durand Primary School - Stockwell, South London. Sariya Allan, a teaching assistant in this school, refused to listen when one of her pupils read from a Harry Potter book. The theme of the book - Magic, is against her Christian faith, Sariya claimed.
Sariya Allan told a seven year old girl pupil from her class that she would be ‘cursed’ if she heard this novel by J. K. Rowling. ‘I don’t do witchcraft in any form‘ - she declared. Following this, her employers took a step towards correcting her. Sariya Allan quit her job on the grounds of religious discrimination, and has presently claimed approximately £50,000 damages from this school.
Durand Primary School is a foundation owned by London Horizons, outside local authority control. Sariya Allan, 47, had been working with the Durand Primary School for around four years, drawing £12,000-a-year in salary. She resigned in July 2006.
As her evidence in the hearing in Croydon, South London, Sariya mentioned that a girl in her class brought a Harry Potter book to read in the month of February last year. She admitted telling the child that she does not do ‘witchcraft‘ in any form. She further explained that the reason for her disapproval of the book was the known fact that Harry Potter books were written on ‘white magic’. The Holy Bible, she said, advocates strongly against the practices which the book contains, and thus she had objected to the child reading the book to her. Sariya said, - ‘I was put in the position that listening to the child reading this book would compromise my religious beliefs‘.
A committed ‘Pentecostal Christian‘, Sariya has seen the situation as a violation of her rights to practice her religion. She also claimed that the school was stopping her from holding Morning Prayer meetings in the classroom. According to Sariya, she had been - ‘harassed, humiliated, and discriminated‘. She had been suspended by the school for her behavior with the student regarding the incident over the Harry Potter book, following which, she resigned herself.
The school is looking at the situation from a purely secular point of view. The counsel for the school, Ben Oduje said - ‘Her suspension was due to her obstructive conduct over time’. He feels that her standpoint regarding the Harry Potter book expresses a lot about her attitude towards the school. He also mentioned that this attitude was noticed on several other occasions as well.
According to Mr. Oduje, the school had criticized her behavior towards the student, which he felt was biased, but this criticism was not a criticism of her religious beliefs. Her conduct towards a seven-year-old student had expressed a religious bias, which the school had objected to. Mr. Oduje said - ‘Her expressing her disapproval of the child’s choice of book had the effect of imposing her own religious beliefs on the child‘. He felt that Sariya’s behavior was not appropriate for a teacher under any circumstances.
The case is still in court. This incident says a lot about how religious beliefs can become prejudices. Religion in today’s world is something personal. Is it right to express an objection or make a statement in a classroom which is wholly based on one’s own religious standpoint? It also brings forth the question - Can a teacher stop her student from doing something just because she does not like it herself? The question of freedom of choice and of individual expression looms large when we look at incidents like this.
Via : Gulf Times
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