An educational project organised at the end of Ramadan has sparked a heated debate at a municipal nursery in Gelsenkirchen. This is according to a report by the broadcaster RTL West. The report states that a project was carried out at a nursery in the Resser Mark district of Gelsenkirchen (photo) , in which the children were taught how to pray in a mosque and how to write their names in Arabic script. Enxhi Seli-Zacharias, deputy parliamentary group leader of the AfD in North Rhine-Westphalia, reports that concerned parents had approached her seeking help.
The Resser Mark district has a significantly lower proportion of people with a migrant background – around 17 per cent – than the Gelsenkirchen average of over 42 per cent. The North Rhine-Westphalia Ministry for Family Affairs declined to comment on the specific case to broadcast station RTL West. Nevertheless, according to the broadcaster, the Ministry stated: “When learning about other cultures, lifestyles, attitudes or religions, the aim is to promote understanding and acceptance and, of course, not to alienate children and their families from their own values.” A spokesperson for the City of Gelsenkirchen said: “The Herforder Straße nursery implements educational activities relating to religious festivals every year. Alongside the Easter family celebration, the St Martin’s Day family festival, the St Nicholas celebration and the Christmas party, Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr are just two of these festivals.”
Last year, a school in Gelsenkirchen caused quite a stir. At the time, the Erle Comprehensive School in Gelsenkirchen switched entirely to halal food: from the coming school year, all meals served at the school will be halal, i.e. prepared in accordance with Muslim standards. The school announced this on its website: “All meals are halal,” it states. This applies primarily to all meat dishes; and a vegetarian option is also available. Nius was the first to report on this. The food is therefore free from pork; the meat also comes from ritually prescribed slaughter. The switch to purely halal-certified food is due to the new caterer, the Turkish-run ‘Müttis Küche’. This company supplies a total of nine schools in Gelsenkirchen and relies heavily on halal-certified meat.