Muslim schools in Britain

This chapter focuses on the contemporary nature of Muslim mobilisations that are investigated, specifically in order to answer the following questions. Firstly, why have there been sustained Muslim mobilisations on the issue of Muslim schools within and across diverse Muslim communities? Secondly, what does the engagement or non-engagement of Muslims over the issue of education reveal about their incorporation into a rubric of British citizenship? Thirdly, how can Muslim educators and advocates address their critics and broader concerns over the place of Muslim schools in Britain? The criticism that Muslim schools can serve as cultural protection zones is sometimes made through pointing to the evidence of Muslim parents' preferences for single-sex schooling. Where Muslim constituencies are granted greater participatory space in the shape of provisions for Muslim schooling, it is evident from the testimonies of Muslim educators that a synthesis between faith requirements and citizenship commitments is a first-order priority.