Islamic Religious Education in the Netherlands

Overview & Synopsis

In Dutch primary schools, Islamic religious education is presented in three ways. First, in public schools, parents may ask the municipality to create a facility for religious education (to be given by a local imam, for example) on school premises. Municipalities may also subsidize the teacher's salary. Islamic religious education (up to three hours a week) is offered in 7 percent of public primary schools. Besides this optional religious education, the law also stipulates "spiritual movements" as a compulsory subject for all schools. Second, in Christian schools with many Muslim students, two alternatives have been discussed, but neither has created facilities for Islamic religious education. The first limits the enrolment of Muslim students to 33 percent in order to maintain the Christian majority identity of the school and give classes in Christian religious education (to all students). The second creates an "encounter model," a mixture of Christian religious education with the teaching of "spiritual movements" into "interreligious" education. The third type is represented by the 41 Islamic primary schools. Initially public and political debates concentrated on the advantages and disadvantages of these schools and the prejudices against them. Later, the focus shifted toward the negative impact on the integration of students into Dutch society ascribed to these schools, and sometimes on their disloyalty toward Dutch democratic society. Problems in the management of the schools and the quality of the Islamic religious education became the main issues of ongoing discussions. These discussions have not resulted in a policy of abolishing such schools, as the constitutional freedom of education is ensured in Dutch society and culture. (Contains 2 tables and 9 notes.)