Academics & Education

France’s only Muslim high school faces potential contract termination France’s Muslim community has been grappling with the country’s increasing anti-Islamization measures.

(Morocco World News) Al Kindi, the only Muslim private high school in France, is facing the threat of contract termination by the Rhone prefecture. The threat could potentially end the school’s official association with the state. According to the website Lyon Capitale, […]

Children & Teens

Germany: Muslim seminar to prepare 13-year-old girls for marriage sparks backlash The right-wing AfD says 'Girls’ Evenings in the Mosque' is clear proof that migration and integration policies have failed.

(European Conservative) An invitation by a mosque in Germany for girls as young as thirteen to take part in a “preparatory marriage course” has sparked a huge backlash, with centre-right and right-wing parties demanding an explanation. The invitation was sent out by […]

Academics & Education

Religious indoctrination allegations at east-end Montreal school are unfounded: service centre 'No separation of girls/boys was imposed,' CSSPI corporate services director says

(CBC) An investigation into a potential case of religious indoctrination at a school in Montreal’s Saint-Léonard borough has found that the allegations were groundless. Alphonse-Pesant elementary school is part of the Pointe-de-l’Île school service centre (CSSPI), which covers eastern Montreal. The CSSPI […]

Academics & Education

Quebec to do secularism checks at 17 schools for potential laicity law violations The ministers responsible for laicity and education have contacted all school service centres reminding them of their Bill 21 obligations.

(Montreal Gazette) Following up on complaints sparked by allegations of incidents at the Bedford elementary school, Quebec’s Education Ministry is sending inspectors into 17 schools to verify them for possible violations of laicity rules. The schools to be inspected are in the […]

Academics & Education

School board promises ‘thorough investigation’ into playing of Gaza protest song at Remembrance Day ceremony The school’s principal, Aaron Hobbs, at first defended the song's use, saying it was an attempt to bring diversity and inclusion to Remembrance Day. He later apologized

(National Post) Ottawa’s public school board has launched an investigation into a school’s Remembrance Day ceremony that featured a Palestinian protest song about peace in Gaza as the musical accompaniment at school assemblies. The Arabic-language song was played three times at the […]

Children & Teens

Muslims attack Jewish boy in Belgian Jewish neighborhood Pro-Palestinian activists publish footage of attack on Ultra-Orthodox boy on social media in Antwerp; Jewish Belgian MP Michael Freilich demands police reinforcement and deployment of soldiers in the Jewish neighborhoods

(Ynet) Against the background of the attack on Maccabi Tel Aviv fans in Amsterdam after the game against Ajax on Thursday, pro-Palestinian Hamas supporters shared videos of an attack on an Ultra-Orthodox boy from two weeks ago. The video was shared on […]

Children & Teens

Antwerp police arrest five, as fears of a ‘Jew hunt’ rise following calls to action on social media After the Amsterdam pogrom, calls began to appear on social media for local youth to organize a jodenjacht (Jew hunt); five youths were administratively arrested and then released.

(Jerusalem Post) Antwerp police arrested five people as part of proactive operations against a suspected “Jew hunt” following calls to action on social media, according to De Morgen. A police spokesperson told De Morgen that five people had been put under administrative […]

Academics & Education

Ontario school played Palestinian protest song in Arabic as its Remembrance Day music 'They chose an Arabic song about peace for Gaza as the only song to play for a Remembrance Day service,' said a disappointed parent

(National Post) An Ottawa school played an Arabic-language Palestinian protest song associated with fighting in Gaza as the soundtrack to its Remembrance Day presentation, causing outrage and distress for some students and parents. The song was the sole musical accompaniment to a […]

Children & Teens

Sweden: Would-be bombers of Israeli defense firm ‘accepted a mission’ Swedish intelligence has suggested that Iran may have orchestrated recent terror attacks on Israeli targets in the country.

(JNS) Three Swedes suspected of having planted an explosive device earlier this year at the offices of Elbit Systems Sweden, the Gothenburg-based subsidiary of Israel’s largest defense contractor, likely acted on behalf of “someone else,” prosecutors told reporters on Wednesday. “Nothing indicates […]

Academics & Education

Quebec opens investigation on another religious incident in a public school 'If these events are confirmed, you can be sure decisions will be made,' says Education Minister Bernard Drainville. 'I'm not going to let this go on without a very firm and determined response.'

(Montreal Gazette) The Quebec government has opened an investigation into another incident of religion reappearing in a public elementary school, with Education Minister Bernard Drainville saying Quebec will not turn a blind eye to the fresh allegations. One day after suspending the […]

Academics & Education

Students at Montreal high school under investigation say teacher made comments that shocked class School service centre says it spoke to teacher following the remarks

(CBC) High school students at one of the four Montreal schools under investigation by Quebec’s Education Ministry for alleged toxic behaviour among staff say their teacher referenced wanting to hit them last week. The students’ account is one of the few specific incidents […]

Academics & Education

A Montreal elementary school is at the centre of a secularism debate. Here’s how we got here Provincial politicians accused of pouncing on religion for political gain

(CBC) In the last few weeks, an elementary school in Montreal’s west-central Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood has been mired in controversy. This past weekend, 11 teachers were suspended for allegedly creating a toxic environment for students and staff that goes back to 2016. On […]

Academics & Education

Liberal MNA Marwah Rizqy asks for police protection in wake of threats She says she fears for her safety and that of her family after speaking up about a toxic climate at the Bedford school.

(Montreal Gazette) Saying she fears for her safety and that of her family, St-Laurent MNA Marwah Rizqy has asked for police protection. Rizqy was repeatedly insulted after denouncing the situation at Bedford elementary school that came to light in a recent investigation […]

Academics & Education

Ministry suspends licences of 11 teachers at Bedford school as Legault vows to reinforce secularism rules 'We have a group of teachers who tried to introduce Islamic religious concepts into a Quebec public school, putting aside science as a way of helping students,' the premier said.

(Montreal Gazette) With the Legault government saying the evidence shows Quebec’s secularism law was being flouted, 11 teachers at Montreal’s Bedford elementary school have had their teaching licences suspended by the Education Ministry pending the conclusions of an investigation. And the government […]

Academics & Education

PQ leader calls for stricter secularism rules in wake of ‘toxic’ climate report at Bedford school Paul St-Pierre Plamondon says the education minister only referred to 'ideological divergences' in a Radio-Canada interview, without acknowledging the religious part of the equation.

(Montreal Gazette) Urging politicians to not shy away from the debate because it involves religion, Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon called Monday for stricter secularism rules in the wake of the Bedford school controversy. St-Pierre Plamondon said what happened in the […]

Academics & Education

’11 teachers all at once?’: Parents shocked by suspensions at Montreal school Several Muslim parents with children at Bedford school said they fear the suspensions will fuel political discourse.

(Montreal Gazette) Parents at a Montreal primary school where 11 teachers were suspended over the weekend expressed shock and confusion during after-school pickup on Monday, with several questioning if the situation had been blown out of proportion. The suspensions, announced on Saturday, […]

Children & Teens

Victims describe life in IS captivity in first Dutch Yazidi trial In 2021, a court in Germany handed down the first conviction for the mistreatment of the Yazidi religious minority by the Islamic State group.

(Courthouse News) Two women kept as slaves by members of the Islamic State militant group described their experiences in captivity, including losing children, in a Dutch court on Wednesday. The women, referred to by the court as Z. and S. for privacy […]