Hi Mannie
Further to this, the School does not provide facilities for any religion or form
of worship - would we therefore need to consider providing facilities for all
requests in future? As Felicity said, we have a lot of these facilties (including
a mosque) very near the School, and the School itself is on a tiny campus with
very little, if any, spare capacity.
Rachel
Felicity Hunt wrote:
> Mannie
>
> To what extent does an institution need to replicate facilities that are
> readily available very close by? We have churches of various denominations and
> chapels across the University and city so I would not expect to have to cater
> for Christian worship, and Rachel referred to having a mosque nearby as far as
> her institution was concerned.
>
> On the other hand we have no mosque nearby and we have a number of outlying
> sites where a dedicated prayer room might well be useful. Our departments are
> scattered over a very large area so it would probably be safe to assume that
> one facility would not suffice for the whole University.
>
> What is your view about this?
>
> Felicity
>
> Emmanuell Kusemamuriwo <[log in to unmask]> on 23/10/2003 16:55:02
>
> Please respond to HE Administrators equal opportunities list
> <[log in to unmask]>
>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> cc: (bcc: Felicity Hunt/PER/Central-Admin)
>
> Subject: Re: Prayer room for Ramadan
>
> Hi Rachel,
>
> A prayer room request needs to be considered reasonable because not only is
> it part of a direct institutional provision expectation under good practice
> for all, but also a statutory requirement under the Equality Legislation for
> Religion and Belief.
>
> Also it is an indirect requirement under the General and Specific Duties of
> the RRAA in that most Muslims are from particular racial groups which are
> covered by the Act.
>
> We also need to remember that under the "Burden of Proof" institutions could
> be expected to show evidence of the reasonable and practicable steps they
> take, why, how, when and with whom, in order to make sure that institutional
> practice and provision is not racially discriminatory, in an unlawful
> manner.
>
> It is therefore considered reasonable for an institution that has Muslim
> staff and/or students, to be expected to provide prayer room facilities as
> and when needed. The facilities are also expected to be reasonably and
> comfortably fit for purpose, otherwise if they are not, unfavourable
> treatment that could be tantamount to unlawful institutional racial
> discrimination, could be justifiably inferred.
>
> I hope this clarifies the situation for you. Please feel free to contact me
> with any further issues, if necessary.
>
> Regards
>
> Mannie Kusemamuriwo
> Policy Adviser: Ethnicity & Cultural Diversity
> Equality Challenge Unit
> 3rd Floor, 4 Tavistock Place
> London WC1H 9RA
>
> Tel 020 7520 7063
> Fax 020 7520 7069
> [log in to unmask]
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Rachel Cutts [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: 23 October 2003 15:20
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Prayer room for Ramadan
>
> Hi
>
> I am hoping for some advice on the provision of a prayer room on campus
> during Ramadan. Is this something that you would consider a reasonable
> request? It's not something I've been asked before - there is a large
> Mosque about 5 minutes walk from the School and I think previously
> people have used that.
>
> Any advice gratefully received.
>
> Thanks
>
> Rachel
>
> --
> Rachel Cutts
> Administrator, Research Support
> London Business School
> Regent's Park
> London NW1 4SA
> UK
>
> Tel: +44 (0) 20 7262 5050 x3490
> Fax: +44 (0) 20 7723 3461
> Email: [log in to unmask]
> **********
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--
Rachel Cutts
Administrator, Research Support
London Business School
Regent's Park
London NW1 4SA
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7262 5050 x3490
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7723 3461
Email: [log in to unmask]
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