School principal threatened over class on history of Islam

The Collectif contre l'Islamophobie en France reports that the Notre-Dame Catholic primary school at Saint-Mihiel, in the la Meuse department of Lorraine in north-eastern France, has been subjected to a campaign of Islamophobic harassment.

In late December, as part of the French national curriculum which requires pupils to receive a basic grounding in the history of the three main monotheistic faiths, the school taught a class on the origins of Islam, just as it does on those of Christianity and Judaism. A handout that included quotations from the Qur'an and named the architectural features of a mosque was given to students.

Early in January the principal of Notre-Dame, Christelle Lainet, was accosted in the schoolyard by the mother of one of the pupils. Apparently unable to distinguish between proselytism and the transmission of knowledge, as the CCIF puts it, the parent vehemently objected to her offspring being taught about Islam, using what Lainet described as "very racist" language. The father then paid a visit to Lainet at her office, expressing similarly extreme views and demanding the right to withdraw his child from the course on Islam, which Lainet agreed to.
The CCIF expresses its full support for Lainet in face of the harassment to which she has been subjected. They note that Muslims are not the only victims of Islamophobia and that this hateful ideology "threatens the whole of society", because it divides citizens and undermines the tolerance and respect for others that are the foundations of coexistence.