Netherlands: 50% of teachers in Muslim schools are not Muslim

At least half of the teachers in Muslim elementary school are not Muslim. The number of Muslim teachers is increasing. More and more Muslims get a teacher's education. In 1996, just 25% of the teachers in Muslim elementary schools were Muslim, says newspaper Nederlands Dagblad on the basis of data from the Muslim school organization ISBO.

According to principals of Muslim schools, non-Muslim teachers often have a Christian background. ISBO manager Yassin Hartog says that if there are no Muslim teachers available, people of the book, and that includes Christians, enjoy a slight preference. He says they expect their personnel to endorse the general ideas of Islam. In practice the Muslim and Christian values and standards are not that far from each other.

Teachers without a Muslim background are asked to respect Islam. Cihan Gerden, general manager of four Muslim elementary schools in the Rijnmond region says that this means taking part in Muslim festivals. They also pose uniform regulations, but they are not that far off from many Christian school - not too tight and not to bare. Women are not obligated to wear a headscarf.

Source: Trouw (Dutch)

See also: Muslim school given last warning, Netherlands: Muslim Bible teachers in Christian elementary schools