Finally, Spanish Schools Teach Islam

[Muhammad]

A file photo of Spanish Muslims

performing prayers in a Madrid mosque.

 

By Al-Amin Andalusi, IOL Correspondent

MADRID, January 12 (IslamOnline.net) - Teaching Islam in Spanish schools has finally found its way to implementation after almost a decade of delays and obstacles.

 

Since coming to power in the European country, Spain's new Socialist government under Jose Rodriguez Zapatero has made a host of good gestures toward the Muslim community in the country, the most remarkable of which was a decision to allow the teaching of Islamic subjects at public schools of major cities with significant Muslim presence.

 

The long-awaited development saw the light early January, 2005.

 

The government decision on teaching Islam only stipulates giving definition lessons on Islam. But Spanish rightist parties lashed out at the decision, launching a severe campaign against the Muslim community in the country, seeking to put strains that would make the decision void of its meaning.

 

Teaching Islam was part of an agreement reached in the early 1990s between the former Socialist government and a number of the Islamic bodies in Spain.

 

However, the agreement was shelved for eight years after former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's People's Party assumed power.

 

Spain has a Muslim community of about 600,000 people out of a total population of 40 million. Some 94 percent of its population are Christian Catholics.

 

The country has recognized Islam through the law of religious freedom, issued in July 1967.

Definition Lessons

The Spanish decision stipulates teaching the Islamic subjects in the Spanish schools in a number of Spanish cities that have high Muslim population such as Barcelona, Madrid and Andalusia.

 

The Spanish official for religious affairs had said Islamic subjects would be taught in a number of major Spanish cities by early January, 2005.

 

Teaching Islamic subjects was only allowed since 2000 in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla in which Muslims of Moroccan origin make up the majority of population.

 

Ceuta and Melilla are located in northern Morocco under the Spanish control.

 

Teachers of the Islamic subjects in the two cities were only seven, teaching some 1,900 students in the preliminary education, however, the experience was seen as an encouraging step to be copied in other Spanish cities.

 

Visiting a number of schools in the city of Melilla, the Spanish official for religious affairs said the experience of teaching Islamic subjects in the city was driving factor for the Spanish government to follow suit in other Spanish cities.

 

The decision to teach Islam stipulates giving simple definition lessons on the Islamic pillars to students at Spanish schools.

 

The Spanish socialist government and the Union of the Islamic Associations have agreed that the Islamic subjects would be limited to teaching introductory lessons on the pillars of Islam to Spanish students.

 

The association has been intensifying efforts to correct misconceptions on Islam among the Spanish people.

 

The association secretary general urged to extend the teaching of the Islamic subjects to other Spanish cities in light of the increasing numbers of Muslim immigrants in the European country.

 

Neighboring Morocco is expected to play a role in the issue as the Moroccan education ministry will prepare the curricula of the Islamic subjects, similarly to the situation in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla.

 

Opposition

But the government's decision to teach Islam drew ire from rightist and pro-Catholic church parties which oppose the rising numbers of Muslim immigrants in Spain.

 

The rightist opposition campaign led by the People's Party and pro-church parties resulted in imposing more restrictions on implementing the law.

 

These included the Islamic subjects to be taught only in areas that have high Muslim population, to have at least ten students or parents presenting a request and that the Islamic subjects don't contradict with the by-laws of the government and private schools in Spain.

 

The Spanish rightist parties, however, failed to place other restrictions, such as allowing only Spanish teachers to teach the Islamic subjects. The proposal was rebuffed by the Spanish government as unrealistic and similar to the idea of Muslim teachers teaching Catholicism.

 

The Spanish rightist parties believe the government decision to teach Islam is doomed to failure due to the poor number of the Islamic subject teachers, even in the cities of Ceuta and Melilla which have only 20 teachers.

 

However, the Spanish government is attempting to solve the problem by reaching an agreement with Morocco on seeking Spanish-speaking teachers from the neighboring Arab country, similarly to a deal between Morocco and Italy under which Morocco sent 30 teachers to teach Arabic to the Moroccan immigrants in the European country.

Anti-Islam Drive

 

The Spanish move on teaching Islamic subjects, however, has stirred anti-Islam parties and their media mouthpieces to launch a scathing attack on Islam and Muslims.

 

The rightist La Razon daily, known for its links with the church and army circles, launched vile campaigns against the Muslim community, accusing them of inability to integrate into the western societies.

 

The Spanish daily also claimed that the Noble Qur'an forbids Muslims from easily integrating into the western societies.

 

The anti-Muslim campaigns in the European country reflected differences between the rightist parties and the Catholic church on one hand, and the leftist parties led by the ruling Socialist party on the other, according to observers.

 

Since he assumed power, Zapatero has cancelled a host of privileges enjoyed by the Catholic church during the rule of the People's Party, including a halt of finances to the church-sponsored schools and religious centers.

 

Such a decision, naturally, drew criticism campaigns from the Catholic circles, accusing the Socialist Party of adopting a policy of “secular extremismâ€.

 

The Zapatero government, however, stressed it only applies secular policies that stipulate equality among the different faiths in the country.

 

It also noted that the decision on teaching Islam was a part of the secular polices adopted by the government.

 

Observers also believe the decision to teach Islam aims to control the widespread Islamic private schools in the country to avoid any future “terrorist†acts similar to the Madrid bombings.

 

http://www.islamonline.net/English/News/2005-01/12/article05.shtml

[Muhammad]

40 Spanish Schools Teach Islam

 

 

A primary school in Andalusia.

 

By Al-Amin Andalusi, IOL Correspondent

 

MADRID, September 15, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – An overdue agreement to teach Islam at public Spanish schools is finally seeing the light this academic year that kicks off mid-September, with promises more schools will join the club once the tools are there.

 

The agreement between the Spanish government and the Union of Islamic Associations has actually been effective since the second term of 2004-2005 school year. But only two schools implemented the deal.

 

Islam was first taught in Melilla and Ceuta; two Moroccan cities under Spanish rule where Muslims make up more than 40% of the population. They were looked upon as the model case for the experiment in other Spanish cities.

 

Lack of qualified teachers, coupled with the Spanish government's decision not to allow teachers from Morocco or other Islamic countries, made teaching Islam limited to three cities; Andalusia, Aragon and Basque, according to the Spanish Education Ministry.

 

Only 17 teachers met the Spanish government criteria, and will be tasked to teach in some 40 schools in the three cities.

 

Teachers were required to be university graduates and growing up in Spain.

 

Canary Islands were planned to start teaching Islam this term, but due to the shortage of teachers, the plans were deterred, according to IOL correspondent.

 

The Spanish capital of Madrid has a Muslim population of 100,000 while Barcelona has more than 150,000 Muslims, yet Islam will not be taught there this school year. Lack of qualified teachers is to blame.

Not Enough

 

Spanish Muslims try to fight stereotyping through schools.

 

Chairman of the Union of Islamic Associations in Spain Abdel Salam Mansour told Spanish News Agency EFE that he was not happy with the few number of teachers, around 17, and limitations to the agreement.

 

Still it is a significant step, he said.

 

For his part, secretary general of the union Riadh Tatari told IOL that he hoped the agreement would be expanded to cover the country.

 

The Islamic body was unsatisfied with the number of students who registered to attend the religion classes, only 25,000, while statistics of the bloc held the number as many as 80,000 Muslim students.

 

The agreement with the Spanish government was signed in the 1990s when the Socialist Party was in office, but was put to a standstill since 1996 with the rightist government of the People's Party.

 

The Islamic organizations and bodies in Spain wish to improve the stereotype image of Islam among Spaniards, especially in the wake of Madrid attacks in March 2004 that killed some 200 people, with a number of Muslim immigrants arrested in connection with the blasts.

 

Spanish El Periódico de Aragon newspaper said the religion lessons will be limited to some definitions of Islam and will be taught in Spanish except when reading verses from the Noble Qur'an.

 

The lessons will not include teaching how to pray or other Islamic rituals, as they remain the job of families and mosques.

 

Each teacher will receive some euros 1,200 ($ 1,471), according to the paper.