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Thursday, Apr 02, 2026

London Central Mosque Clarifies: Afternoon Prayers Cannot Be Consistently Deferred at Michaela School

A prominent London mosque denies giving advice to Michaela community school that all afternoon prayers could be deferred, contradicting claims made during a recent high court case.
The school, which has a strict no-prayer policy during lunchtime, is run by Katharine Birbalsingh, who argues that prayers disrupt the school's cohesion and inclusion.

A Muslim student brought a legal challenge against the policy but was unsuccessful.

The mosque states that it made it clear to the school that praying later in winter would not be possible.

A student challenged a school policy that required afternoon prayers to be held before lunch, arguing it was discriminatory against Muslim students.

The school head claimed the imam at London Central Mosque agreed that the afternoon prayer could be done later.

However, the mosque later released a statement saying it had informed the school that in some cases, it would not be possible to pray later due to religious practices.

The statement mentioned an accepted practice called Al jamm al suri, which allows the earlier prayer to be done later during certain times of the year.

The discrepancy between the school head's account and the mosque's statement created confusion over the policy.

The text is a summary of a tweet made by an unnamed group or individual regarding a high court verdict.

The verdict prevented them from praying later in the winter due to shorter days.

The tweet expressed disappointment and described the decision as a violation of their religious and human rights, as prayer is one of the five pillars of Islam.
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