The emblem of Arkana College is two boomerangs with stars in between. The school colours are green and gold and in the aftermath of the Bali bombing, the Australian flag was lowered to half mast.
Last year, the Kingsgrove primary school staged a production of The Lion King and before that, Aladdin. Its boys are mad on the Bulldogs and St George rugby league teams.
And when the principal, Madenia Abdurahman, busted two students splashing water over each other, she organised a collection for a drought-affected school in Narrabri.
Her 150 charges are pupils of one of NSW’s 12 Muslim schools and “proud Australians”, she says.
They are taught to be model citizens, to respect the rights of others and to understand the different backgrounds that make up Australia’s multicultural society.
Yesterday, the Australian Council for Islamic Education in Schools – the umbrella organisation for 20 Muslim colleges nationwide – issued a landmark charter condemning violence and hatred in the name of any religion, including Islam.
In the wake of the Bali bombings, the Muslim school at Rooty Hill had its windows smashed. Other NSW schools cancelled student excursions and received abusive phone calls.
The council’s president, Mohamed Hassan, director of Minaret College in Victoria, said he felt it important for Australians to know that Muslim schools stress both loyalty to the nation and faith in Allah.
Muslim schools, he said, promoted peace and understanding through inter-faith relations in the same way as Catholic or Jewish schools. They stood against violence and hatred in the name of any religion, including Islam, and equally condemned those who preached violence and hatred against Muslims.
The charter also emphasised a commitment to following the example of the prophet Muhammad “in approaching one another in love and understanding, humility and self-criticism, rationality and reasonability, with open hearts and minds in the pursuit of peace”.
In NSW, there are four times the number of Muslim schools as there were a decade ago. Some schools enforce the wearing of headscarfs and separate staffrooms for men and women teachers; others such as the Arkana College do not.
Prayer time is held five times a day, the wearing of the hijab is optional, but then only if it is pale lemon and matches the school’s uniform of green tartan skirts, pants and blazers.
Six of seven teachers are “mainstream teachers”, Mrs Abdurahman says. Her only Muslim teacher is Australian born and a graduate of the University of Sydney.
“People think it is easy to migrate, it is not,” Mrs Abdurahman said.
“My children grew up without an extended family.
“You do miss out but I decided I wanted a better life for them and that is how these parents feel. They want them to know their cultural heritage.”