Michael Ejercito
2017-09-18 15:54:29 UTC
Islamic Rules in Danish Schools
by Judith Bergman
September 18, 2017 at 4:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10958/denmark-schools-islam
The Nord-Vest Private School in Copenhagen, came under investigation by
Danish authorities during an unannounced visit after teaching materials were
found extolling and encouraging young people to commit jihad. Luqman
Pedersen, a Danish convert to Islam, admitted to the authorities that the
school wishes to create a parallel Muslim society.
Two former teachers at the Nord-Vest school described how the children at
the school spoke of Danes in terms of "them and us". In a school poetry
contest, several of the children composed poems that detailed their wish to
beat up and break the legs and hands of the "Danish pigs".
"I teach religion, but I was not allowed to teach Christianity. Instead, a
visiting imam from Iraq taught Christianity... I could imagine that some of
the boys I taught could have been radicalized," a teacher said. The teachers
tried to alert both politicians and authorities to some of the problems they
had witnessed, but no one would listen.
Some Muslim schools in Denmark appear to be employing anti-Semitic teachers,
enforcing gender inequality, employing violence against students, offering
poor education in general, and teaching jihad.
There are 26 Muslim schools in Denmark. While they operate independently of
the public schools, the state sponsors them heavily -- as it does other
independent schools in Denmark -- covering 75 % of their budget. The demand
for Muslim schools in Denmark has grown in the last decade, as Muslim
schools have increased their number of pupils by almost 50% since 2007; they
now cater to almost 5,000 pupils. (It is unknown, however, how many Muslim
children learn in the so-called "Koran schools," where Islam and Arabic are
taught after school to those children who do not attend a Muslim day school.
Koran schools -- as revealed in the Danish TV documentary "Sharia in
Denmark") -- are not under any supervision from state or municipal
authorities).
Danish educational authorities are currently investigating seven Muslim
schools for failing to follow the laws of independent schools, including the
requirement that they prepare the students for life in Danish society, and
teaching them about democracy and gender equality. That amounts to more than
one quarter of all Muslim schools. The first Muslim school opened in Denmark
in 1980. Nearly forty years later, Danish politicians appear to be only
beginning to comprehend or take seriously the challenges that several of
these schools present to Danish society.
Danish news outlets exposed some of those challenges this summer:
The school leader at Al Quds School in Copenhagen, Waleed Houji, posted
anti-Semitic images from the Muslim terrorist organization Hamas on his
Facebook profile. A class teacher at that same school, Naji Dyndgaard, a
convert, wrote anti-Semitic posts on Facebook.
Another school, the Iqra School, is being investigated by Danish school
authorities for not preparing children to become part of Danish society. The
school's former deputy leader, imam Shahid Mehdi, ran a website telling
Muslims not to have non-Muslim friends. The school also told its students
that having a boyfriend or girlfriend was forbidden.
The Nord-Vest Private School in Copenhagen came under investigation by
Danish authorities during an unannounced visit after teaching materials were
found extolling jihad and encouraging young people to wage it.
The school is also being investigated for the sale of its buildings to Ali
Laibi Jabbar in December 2016 -- Jabbar is a leading member of the
Almuntadar Muslim association in Malmö, Sweden, which is a part of Iranian
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's organization, the Imam Ali foundation. Jabbar
claims he only bought the buildings for investment purposes. At the
beginning of September, the former leader of the school, Luqman Pedersen, a
Danish convert to Islam, admitted to the authorities that the school wishes
to create a parallel Muslim society; he also told them that the plan of the
new buyer is to transform the buildings into an Islamic cultural center,
which would include the school.
Two former teachers at the Nord-Vest school, Henriette Baden Hesselmann and
Gitte Luttinen Ørnkow, described how the children at the school spoke of
Danes in terms of "them and us". In a school poetry contest in 2008, several
of the children composed poems that detailed their wish to beat up and break
the legs and hands of the "Danish pigs". The former teachers described a
school culture of intimidation and violence, with the head of the school
board yelling at the students in Arabic and beating them. The former
teachers added that all their students admitted that they were also beaten
at home. The Jew-hatred was unmistakable, as the geography teacher
discovered when he almost had to give up teaching a lesson about Israel due
to the students' hostility. Another teacher was told not to draw stars in
the children's books as a way of showing the children that they had done
well, since the star was reminiscent of the Star of David. The girls were
not allowed to participate in swimming lessons, sports, or music lessons.
One of the former teachers said:
"In general, large portions of the teaching were censored. I teach religion,
but I was not allowed to teach Christianity. Instead, a visiting imam from
Iraq taught Christianity... I could imagine that some of the boys I taught
could have been radicalized."
The teachers tried to alert both politicians and authorities to some of the
problems they had witnessed, but no one would listen.
Following these revelations, several Danish opposition parties, including
the Social Democrats, now wish to outlaw Muslim schools completely.
According to Mette Frederiksen, leader of the Social Democratic party:
"...it's not a good idea with Muslim schools. When you are a child in
Denmark, it is incredibly important that you grow up in Danish culture and
Danish everyday life. No matter how you spin it, an independent school based
on Islam is not part of the majority culture in Denmark... Nor do I like the
lack of equality in schools and these very hateful words against our Jewish
minorities. It emphasizes that we have parallel societies."
The government, however, is not enthusiastic; it says it fears that closing
the schools would be unconstitutional and contravene the European Convention
on Human Rights.
Mette Frederiksen, leader of Denmark's Social Democratic party, says "When
you are a child in Denmark, it is incredibly important that you grow up in
Danish culture and Danish everyday life... an independent school based on
Islam is not part of the majority culture in Denmark... Nor do I like the
lack of equality in schools and these very hateful words against our Jewish
minorities." (Image source: News Oresund/Flickr)
Judith Bergman is a columnist, lawyer and political analyst.
by Judith Bergman
September 18, 2017 at 4:00 am
https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/10958/denmark-schools-islam
The Nord-Vest Private School in Copenhagen, came under investigation by
Danish authorities during an unannounced visit after teaching materials were
found extolling and encouraging young people to commit jihad. Luqman
Pedersen, a Danish convert to Islam, admitted to the authorities that the
school wishes to create a parallel Muslim society.
Two former teachers at the Nord-Vest school described how the children at
the school spoke of Danes in terms of "them and us". In a school poetry
contest, several of the children composed poems that detailed their wish to
beat up and break the legs and hands of the "Danish pigs".
"I teach religion, but I was not allowed to teach Christianity. Instead, a
visiting imam from Iraq taught Christianity... I could imagine that some of
the boys I taught could have been radicalized," a teacher said. The teachers
tried to alert both politicians and authorities to some of the problems they
had witnessed, but no one would listen.
Some Muslim schools in Denmark appear to be employing anti-Semitic teachers,
enforcing gender inequality, employing violence against students, offering
poor education in general, and teaching jihad.
There are 26 Muslim schools in Denmark. While they operate independently of
the public schools, the state sponsors them heavily -- as it does other
independent schools in Denmark -- covering 75 % of their budget. The demand
for Muslim schools in Denmark has grown in the last decade, as Muslim
schools have increased their number of pupils by almost 50% since 2007; they
now cater to almost 5,000 pupils. (It is unknown, however, how many Muslim
children learn in the so-called "Koran schools," where Islam and Arabic are
taught after school to those children who do not attend a Muslim day school.
Koran schools -- as revealed in the Danish TV documentary "Sharia in
Denmark") -- are not under any supervision from state or municipal
authorities).
Danish educational authorities are currently investigating seven Muslim
schools for failing to follow the laws of independent schools, including the
requirement that they prepare the students for life in Danish society, and
teaching them about democracy and gender equality. That amounts to more than
one quarter of all Muslim schools. The first Muslim school opened in Denmark
in 1980. Nearly forty years later, Danish politicians appear to be only
beginning to comprehend or take seriously the challenges that several of
these schools present to Danish society.
Danish news outlets exposed some of those challenges this summer:
The school leader at Al Quds School in Copenhagen, Waleed Houji, posted
anti-Semitic images from the Muslim terrorist organization Hamas on his
Facebook profile. A class teacher at that same school, Naji Dyndgaard, a
convert, wrote anti-Semitic posts on Facebook.
Another school, the Iqra School, is being investigated by Danish school
authorities for not preparing children to become part of Danish society. The
school's former deputy leader, imam Shahid Mehdi, ran a website telling
Muslims not to have non-Muslim friends. The school also told its students
that having a boyfriend or girlfriend was forbidden.
The Nord-Vest Private School in Copenhagen came under investigation by
Danish authorities during an unannounced visit after teaching materials were
found extolling jihad and encouraging young people to wage it.
The school is also being investigated for the sale of its buildings to Ali
Laibi Jabbar in December 2016 -- Jabbar is a leading member of the
Almuntadar Muslim association in Malmö, Sweden, which is a part of Iranian
Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani's organization, the Imam Ali foundation. Jabbar
claims he only bought the buildings for investment purposes. At the
beginning of September, the former leader of the school, Luqman Pedersen, a
Danish convert to Islam, admitted to the authorities that the school wishes
to create a parallel Muslim society; he also told them that the plan of the
new buyer is to transform the buildings into an Islamic cultural center,
which would include the school.
Two former teachers at the Nord-Vest school, Henriette Baden Hesselmann and
Gitte Luttinen Ørnkow, described how the children at the school spoke of
Danes in terms of "them and us". In a school poetry contest in 2008, several
of the children composed poems that detailed their wish to beat up and break
the legs and hands of the "Danish pigs". The former teachers described a
school culture of intimidation and violence, with the head of the school
board yelling at the students in Arabic and beating them. The former
teachers added that all their students admitted that they were also beaten
at home. The Jew-hatred was unmistakable, as the geography teacher
discovered when he almost had to give up teaching a lesson about Israel due
to the students' hostility. Another teacher was told not to draw stars in
the children's books as a way of showing the children that they had done
well, since the star was reminiscent of the Star of David. The girls were
not allowed to participate in swimming lessons, sports, or music lessons.
One of the former teachers said:
"In general, large portions of the teaching were censored. I teach religion,
but I was not allowed to teach Christianity. Instead, a visiting imam from
Iraq taught Christianity... I could imagine that some of the boys I taught
could have been radicalized."
The teachers tried to alert both politicians and authorities to some of the
problems they had witnessed, but no one would listen.
Following these revelations, several Danish opposition parties, including
the Social Democrats, now wish to outlaw Muslim schools completely.
According to Mette Frederiksen, leader of the Social Democratic party:
"...it's not a good idea with Muslim schools. When you are a child in
Denmark, it is incredibly important that you grow up in Danish culture and
Danish everyday life. No matter how you spin it, an independent school based
on Islam is not part of the majority culture in Denmark... Nor do I like the
lack of equality in schools and these very hateful words against our Jewish
minorities. It emphasizes that we have parallel societies."
The government, however, is not enthusiastic; it says it fears that closing
the schools would be unconstitutional and contravene the European Convention
on Human Rights.
Mette Frederiksen, leader of Denmark's Social Democratic party, says "When
you are a child in Denmark, it is incredibly important that you grow up in
Danish culture and Danish everyday life... an independent school based on
Islam is not part of the majority culture in Denmark... Nor do I like the
lack of equality in schools and these very hateful words against our Jewish
minorities." (Image source: News Oresund/Flickr)
Judith Bergman is a columnist, lawyer and political analyst.