Reply #2: Faith schools are the bed rock of sectarianism [View All]

You only have to examine the history of the troubles in Northen Ireland to see their malign impact. Separate educational systems mean that people tend to identify with their own and to fear the other. This provides the perfect environment for extremism to flourish. New Labour's asdvocacy for these institutions has got to rank as one of the dumbest political policies of modern times. The French have dawn a lot of flak for their policy of banning religious symbols from their schools but their poilcy makes perfect sense for a country which consciously chose a secular political and social system following the French revolution. Unfortunately, in Britain this issue was not resolved following the English Civil war. Instead, the country opted for a system where Anglicanism (or Presbyterianism in Scotland) was adopted as the official creed but other faiths were tolerated so long as they did not challenge the status quo. As a consequence the UK is country with a state religion embodied in the person of the monarch, a concept not a million miles from Osama Bin Laden's idea of an Islamic Caliphate. Unwittingly young Muslim militants are in danger of reviving uncomfortable questions about faith, country and allegiance most Britons hoped were dead and buried. They may find the creature they have released from its cage is more powerful, uncontrollable and dangerous than they realise.