Ramadan at a comprehensive school in Kleve. Non-Muslim children are now only allowed to eat their lunch secretly, with their eyes averted. Parents speak of exclusion. It is quite obvious that something has happened in Kleve – namely, exactly what is said not to exist.
The Joseph Beuys Comprehensive School in Kleve (photo above) presents itself confidently on its website, pandering to the zeitgeist as a ‘school with courage’ and a ‘school of diversity’. These are big, hollow and empty words from the woke text kit, which are now part of the mandatory inventory in German schools. However, everyday life behind these slogans sometimes looks surprisingly different.
Since the beginning of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, one rule in particular has been causing controversy. Children who eat during break time are required to turn away from their classmates, as their fasting Muslim classmates might find this disturbing.
The incident was made public by parents. The mother of one of the pupils told the Bild newspaper what her daughter and her friend had experienced. Focus magazine has also reported on the deeply disturbing incident. Muslim classmates allegedly told them: ‘It’s Ramadan, you have to fast now and throw your bread in the bin!’ When the girls turned to a teacher for help, he advised them to turn away while eating.
Other parents also report incidents of exclusion and bullying. According to these reports, pupils with a migrant background made ‘gagging and vomiting noises’ when other children ate their lunch. One mother describes how her daughter tearfully told her that she felt excluded and discriminated against in her class. Especially during breaks, she was excluded on the grounds that she was ‘German’.
The school itself naturally rejects the accusation of restriction. It claims that it is all just a misunderstanding. In response to a complaint from parents, it states that eating and drinking during breaks is still perfectly acceptable. At the same time, however, there have been cases where children who are not fasting have provoked their fasting classmates with their food. For this reason, it has been discussed that children should avoid observing each other while eating or not eating, if possible. The ‘rule’ of turning away therefore applies to everyone.
The Düsseldorf district government has now taken up the matter. Upon request, it confirmed that the facts of the case are being investigated. In principle, it is allegedly the case that pupils should not be restricted in their personal behaviour. Attempts by pupils to impose religious rules on their classmates would be consistently punished in schools. According to its own statements, the authority is in contact with the school management.
The case in Kleve highlights a problem that has long since gone beyond the confines of a single school. In a pluralistic society, different religious practices and ways of life come into contact with one another. This is particularly true in schools, especially when German children are in the minority. In such cases, the crucial question is no longer whether to fast or not to fast, but whether state schools are beginning to take false tolerance so far that they are effectively imposing foreign religious rules on everyone else.
If children are only allowed to eat their lunch secretly with their eyes averted in future, then this is less an educational solution and more a symbol of submission.
A ‘school with courage’ in particular should know this.