Florence, 23 March 2023 – A room for prayers available to Muslim students during the Ramadan. It happens in Florence, in a high school, theMarco Polo Technical Institute. The principal, Ludovico Arte, said yes to a request that had been presented by some Muslim students.
There will be two classrooms, in the respective headquarters of the institute, in via San Bartolo a Cintoia and in via De Nicola. The decision was made official in a statement that appeared on the school’s website.
“Religion cannot pass in front of didactics, it is not acceptable – says the principal Louis Art – But I wanted to consult with the deputy principals and we decided to grant space, therefore to comply with a request that had been made to us very politely”.
The two Moroccan students “informed me that Ramadan would begin on March 23 – says the principal – which lasts a month and includes five daily prayers, and they asked me for the possibility of having morning prayers at school. ‘Prayer lasts only 5 minutes, is it possible to leave class and have a place to pray?’. I wasn’t prepared to answer and asked for time to reflect.”
Then the decision. Prayer in selected classrooms for Ramadan it will take place, the school specifies in a statement, “starting from Monday 27 March until the end of Ramadan itself, during the second interval, from 11.35 to 11.45”.