It will be a weekend of protest for a local multi-faith coalition that's opposed to Islamic prayer services being offered in Toronto public schools.

The Toronto District School Board says the in-school, imam-led arrangement at Valley Park Middle School is the best way to keep the kids in school on Friday afternoons.

The board's manager of media and issues, Shari Schwartz-Maltz, told CTVNEWS.ca that the majority of the Don Valley West community is happy and the TDSB is "very pleased to be able to offer this religious accommodation."

But local faith-based groups are planning to let their displeasure be known at the Canadian Secular Alliance rally planned for Queen's Park this Sunday.

Ron Banerjee of the Canadian Hindu Advocacy, "the prime mover and shaker" in the coalition, says his group will attend the protest to specifically rally against the prayer services offered at Valley Park Middle School.

The East Toronto school has been holding Islamic prayer services on Friday afternoons for the past three years. They began holding the prayers in-house after staff noticed students were skipping class to attend services outside the school.

Banerjee said he opposes any form of religious prayer in secular schools, but is especially concerned with Islamic services because of "gender apartheid" and "fundamentalist ties".

Banerjee's accusations are frustrating to many in the Muslim community.

"That is just BS. It's fear-mongering," said Abdul-Basit Khan, a Toronto lawyer and advisor to many local Muslim organizations.

"I'm a lawyer, an officer of the court. If there is a mosque acting outside the law, charge them. Don't do smears. Our community gets more than our share of those."

"I think the people who are serious about education, accommodation, citizenship, are on the side of the people who want to accommodate the prayer."

The Canadian Secular Alliance, too, says that the CHA has made unfair and disrespectful comments about the Muslim community. They've specifically asked the group not to attend Sunday's rally.

In July, Banerjee's group led a protest outside TDSB headquarters. They will protest again at TDSB Saturday afternoon, to confront a group of Muslim students who will be there to rally in support of the prayer services.

Schwartz-Maltz stressed that staff are, for the most part, uninvolved in the prayer services. They are not paid for with public funds, and they are not run by staff or faculty.

"People equate it with the Lord's prayer, but I mean, that was integrated into the curriculum. There's no equation here. This is a voluntary religious accommodation," she said.

"They'll (the groups will) say it's Muslim prayer in schools, but understand, we (the staff) don't do anything…we give them a room and allow them to pray for 30 minutes."

She says they are using a cafeteria that would be otherwise unused in the Friday afternoon time slot. The cafeteria is closed during the 30-minute prayer to non-Muslim students.

Parents must give students permission to miss the class time.

In light of the recent protests, Schwartz-Maltz said the board is exploring different options with the community.

The Ministry of Education says that religious instruction does not take place in any classroom, and elected school boards are responsible for working with parents, students and their communities to accommodate their specific needs.

"If you have a problem with religious accommodation, you have a problem with the Ontario Human Rights Code," Schwartz-Maltz said.