Hawzah News Agency-An Alberta judge has upheld a human rights decision that found a private school discriminated against two Muslim students by not allowing them to pray.

The Alberta Human Rights Commission tribunal found in 2015 that Webber Academy in Calgary unlawfully discriminated against the students and fined the school $26,000.

The school, in appealing the tribunal’s decision to the Court of Queen’s Bench, argued that the boys’ parents were told Webber Academy was non-denominational and there was no space in the school for praying.

“The tribunal applied well-established principles of law. For many years, public and private schools have been required to adhere to human rights legislation in offering their educational services to the public,” wrote Justice Glen Poelman in a decision posted this week.

“We wanted to make sure that students at our school would be able to pursue their studies without the distraction of religious activities being carried out by members of any religious group on campus.”

The students, Sarmad Amir and Naman Siddiqui, were told in 2011 that their praying — which requires bowing and kneeling — was “too obvious” in a non-denominational school.

They continued to hold their prayers in secret in the school, or even outside in the snow.

A prominent Calgary imam welcomed the court’s decision.

“I agree with the decision because those young boys were just practising their rights and their rights should be respected,” said Syed Soharwardy of the Al-Madinah Calgary Islamic Assembly.

“They’re not ... causing any disturbances. They are not causing any nuisance. They are just praying. We have to respect the rights that every Canadian citizen has and they have the right to worship.”