Sweden’s selective ban on religious schools singles out Islamic ones
Closing Islamic schools is a political decision made with anti-Islamic intentions, according to a Swedish politician.
The Swedish government continues to shut down Islamic academic institutions despite many of them being among the best performing schools in the country in an attempt to promote “anti-Islamic rhetoric” and “stop the privatization” of education.
The Nordic nation’s former education minister Lena Axelsson Kjellblum stated at a press conference earlier this year that her administration had put forward a bill to “ban the establishment of so-called independent religious schools”.
The legislation effectively bans schools from growing by adding more students or opening new places starting in 2024.
#Europe have seen a wave of #Islamophobic activity. #Germany stated that 83 #Islamophobia crimes were registered in the first quarter of this year.#France has noted a 38% increase in anti-#muslim attacks in 2021.
More information here 👇 pic.twitter.com/bpyworyFsf— Al Mayadeen English (@MayadeenEnglish) June 12, 2022
The legislation has so far only targeted Islamic schools, prompting a backlash from Muslim organizations, scholars and educational institutions confirming that the decision to close Islamic schools was not driven by subpar academic performance or other teaching issues, but rather by political anti-Islamic motives.
According to Mohamed Amin Kharraki, principal of the independent Muslim school Framstegsskolan in the Stockholm suburb of Ragsved, about 20 schools that identify themselves as Islamic or owned by Muslims are being closed, while the remaining three schools are defending themselves in court.
The nation’s school inspectorate made the decision to close Framstegskolan publicly in May last year. Despite that, the school was upheld in its appeal and the administrative court decided that the decision should stand while the appeal is examined.
Decision made on ‘conspiratorial claims’
The Swedish Homeland Security Service SAPO’s report, which contained “conspiratorial claims” about the Muslim Brotherhood organization, hidden agendas and alleged terror labels that puzzled some researchers, served as a trumped-up excuse to close the school.
“This further shows that we have a social climate where Muslims are exotified and made suspicious. It is a shame that Sapo, of all authorities, has fallen into that pit,” says Poljarevic, who is a lecturer in Islamic theology and philosophy at Uppsala. University.
Islamic preschools are also caught in the crosshairs.
“Terrorist” preschools?
Due to SAPO’s claims that children are allegedly at risk of radicalisation, Saimagarden, a Framstegsskolans preschool in Stockholm’s Akalla district, was to close last August. However, the court changed the decision, so the preschool is still open pending the outcome of the case.
Kharraki claimed that SAPO had only cited “secret” sources and had not made any specific allegations against any school in its report.
He underlined the danger posed by the inspectorate’s argument, saying that if a school is accused of putting children at risk of radicalisation, without any actual evidence or previous incidents, it is “very difficult for you, as an accused party, to defend yourself , actually , because it’s nothing that has actually happened. It’s something that could happen.”
However, the School Inspectorate never visited Framstegsskolan to investigate the alleged radicalization and has refused to question SAPO’s report, according to Kharraki.
Anti-Islam agenda
The top official for the Nyan political party in southernmost Scania county and a board member, Sead Busuladzic, said the school closures had nothing to do with education and everything to do with the current anti-Muslim political climate.
He highlighted how the right-wing parties currently in power have explicitly said they have nothing against Christian, Jewish or other schools.
Busuladzic claims politicians are normalizing Islamophobia and making it harder for minorities to live their lives, while only raising issues with Islamic institutions meant to “stop radicalisation”. By doing so, they “influence the public attitude and perception of Muslims,” ​​according to the statement.
It is worth highlighting that Social Democrats had pushed this issue, as they are “against all private schools” and argue that the state should run all educational institutions, according to Busuladzic, adding that only Islamic schools bore the brunt of even Social Democrats’ policies, despite their alleged general opposition to private education.
In recent elections, instead of focusing on social improvements, politicians have fed anti-Muslim sentiment, he said, suggesting the school closures were a reflection of this.
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