(Reuters) Some teachers in France say they censor themselves to avoid confrontation with pupils and parents over religion and free speech, a problem brutally exposed when a teacher was beheaded after showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad in class.
History teacher Samuel Paty had shown the images mocking the prophet in a lesson on freedom of expression, pictures first published by the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in 2006 that led to a deadly Islamist attack on its offices.
Paty’s murder earlier this week has caused outrage in a country where the separation of church and state is fiercely defended by many. It has also exposed divisions in a society where a vocal minority in the Muslim community feels its beliefs are not respected.
