Ramadhan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, begins and all Muslims observe sawm, a strict fasting regime which involves abstaining from food and drink from dawn to dusk. This form of diet is a way to purifying oneself not only physically, but also and above all spiritually, and stimulates believers to make good intentions, to behave appropriately and to enter the best dimension to get closer to Allah. Even children, especially from the age of seven, are gradually introduced to this religious practice, which constitutes one of the five pillars of faith in Islam.

In fact, Islamic legal schools - albeit with some slight misalignment - are substantially convergent in identifying a first phase in the life of minors, which goes from birth to seven years, in which they have no legal responsibility or religious obligations, while after seven years, having reached the age of so-called “discernment”, minors acquire some legal skills and assume the obligation to perform acts of worship.

It is therefore important to underline how the fulfilment of cultic practices represents for Muslim minors the expression of an identity dimension which manifests itself, on the confessional level, as an articulation of religious freedom, wherever they are, and therefore also in secularized contexts, during educational moments and during the month of Ramadhan.

In plural and multi-confessional Italy, it thus happens in Calenzano, on the occasion of the beginning of the month of fasting for Muslims and the consequent daily diet for some students, that the Muslim parents of two 10-year-old children asked for and obtained from the school direction the exemption of children from taking meals. Well, despite having respected the family’s choice, the school director perhaps did not consider the inappropriateness of leaving children in the refectory to fast alongside their classmates who are eating.

On the other hand, a school director of Milan issued a note addressed to those parents who have made a similar request for their children. He communicated the exemption from meals throughout the month, indicating the alternative possibility of having the children stay in the refectory together with the companions to eat the meal, or authorize the exit at 12.30 and return at 2.30 pm. The management note is justified by the lack of staff who can supervise students who intend to fast in rooms other than the canteen.

The controversies over the initiatives of the school managements were not long in coming, also because the situation recurs cyclically every year and constitutes an increasing phenomenon. Indeed some school institutes, especially those where the presence of Muslim families is high, have organized themselves in time by foreseeing alternative activities for students who celebrate ritual fasting, as well as spaces dedicated to prayer even if to be used during recess and not during teaching hours.

Yet, the decision of the Milan school director appears less criticisable than that of his Tuscan colleague, since he has in any case shown sensitivity towards the fasting pupils, having allowed their removal from school for the meal period and he cannot be blamed for the lack of staff who can supervise children who do not participate in the meal. Furthermore, it is up to the school in the exercise of its autonomy to evaluate the most suitable measures to adopt to guarantee the right balance between respect for religious freedom and protection of the health of its students.

In the absence of uniform procedures coming from the Ministry, these initiatives, although not standardized, are nevertheless commendable for reconciling the fundamental values of the right to health and education in the compulsory phase with respect for parental responsibility and the religious choices of the family.

What could be improved is the level of inclusiveness of the Italian school which, despite respecting the principle of secularism, is sometimes not very welcoming, despite the specific MIUR guidelines issued as early as 2014, since it appears far from that substantial equality between citizens, little respected and not always prosecuted, even crystallized in the art. 3 of the Constitutional Charter.

In fact, on the one hand there is the right/duty of parents to impart to their children an education anchored in ethical principles placed at the basis of the family unit also following the imprinting of shared religious rules. On the other hand there is the synergy to which the school institution must feel called, to cooperate with parents in the educational function of minors, in order to recognize the students respect for religious freedom as a protection of educational freedom and to ensure their education is inclusive but also respectful of the confessional orientation of the family, despite secularity of the educational institution.

The school must be a place of education, but also of comparison between different cultures and dialogue between different religious affiliations, in order to guarantee the freedoms of its members and the neutrality of public institutions within the framework of an inclusive and non-exclusive secularism.

Vasco Fronzoni

Fonte: Gamberorosso, 8 Marzo 2024; Il Giornale, 12 marzo 2024; La Nazione, 13 marzo 2014.

https://www.gamberorosso.it/notizie/scuola-ramadan/

https://www.ilgiornale.it/news/cronaca-locale/ramadan-bimbi-10-anni-costretti-dai-genitori-digiunare-2295695.html

https://www.lanazione.it/firenze/cronaca/ramadan-cresce-il-numero-di-bambini-della-primaria-che-non-mangiano-a-mensa-i-presidi-prima-non-succedeva-fsicjcpt?live