Britain’s most exclusive school, Eton College, is appointing an imam to promote Islam to the children of Britain’s upper crust: Eton to appoint imam to help understanding of Islam.

Eton College is to become the first top public school in the country to appoint an imam to help pupils gain an understanding of Islamic culture and thought.

Tony Little, the headmaster of the Berkshire school, has written to parents to reassure them that the school will remain an Anglican, Christian school.

The school, which has taught 18 British prime ministers, is also to offer Arabic as a language for the first time from this September to increase better understanding of the Muslim world.

The imam, who is a trained Muslim cleric will also attend to the needs of around 20 Muslim pupils who attend the exclusive �21,000 a year school.

The appointment of Oxford graduate Monawar Hussain has already been supported by many who say it is a positive initiative on behalf of Eton and a sign that many traditional British institutions are changing. …

The appointment has been funded by the London-based Karim Rida Said Foundation, founded in 1986 to promote better understanding of Islam in the West.

The charity worth some �22 million, also runs projects in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, the Lebanon and Palestine educating and aiding disadvantaged Arab children.