The incident occurred in the State of Madhya Pradesh at a school linked to the diocese of Sagar. The Supreme Court has imposed the reintegration of the young man. Spokesman for the bishops it "was an atypical episode" and nothing to do with the "cordial and friendly relations" between Muslims and Christians.

New Delhi (AsiaNews) - The school expelled him because he refused to trim his beard. Now the Supreme Court has imposed his reinstatement on the Institute. The protagonists of the story are Mohammad Salim, a Muslim student, and Nirmala Convent Higher School of Vidisha in the State of Madhya Pradesh, an institute linked to the diocese of Sagar.  

The story of Salim caused controversy and cost the boy a year of study. Now the judges ruling puts an end to the case, but there remains the question on the reasons that prompted the institute to expel the boy.  

Often, Muslim students are the focus of discussions over the lawfulness of their right to wear a veil or beard at school, which are considered signs of religious affiliation and ostentation. Events like the one in Vidisha are frequent in Indian schools where the Hindu community tends to discriminate students from other religions. To make the Nirmala Convent Higher School case singular is that the protagonists belong to the Christian and Muslim faiths.  

Fr. Anand Muttungal, spokesman for the Council of Bishops of Madhya Pradesh, said: "This was an unusual incident that should not be regarded as a sign of a problematic situation between Christians and Muslims in the state." The priest speaks of "cordial and friendly relations" between the "two minority communities" and clarifies that the Court's ruling finds no objection from the school rather it had merely followed the directives laid out by the government.  

At the origins of the episode therefore, was not religious discrimination, rather the literal application of law by the institute. A local Catholic told AsiaNews: "If the sisters can enter the Nirmala School with the veil we can not ask Muslim girls to take it off. If we demand rights for minorities, we must show greater sensitivity about the issues. Our task is to act with compassion and charity. "  

Asghar Ali Engineer, a Muslim intellectual and director of the Institute of Islamic Studies, minimizes the incident, but stresses that the story of Salim "is a matter of personal freedom" and not a dispute over "Muslim and non-Muslim." " Of course, the school must have a code of conduct," says Engineer " but if the code of conduct, clashes with personal freedom, it is the latter that must prevail."

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• discrimination
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• freedom