A local official announced on Monday that France will stop its funding for the largest Islamic high school in the country, citing what it claims are administrative failures and questionable educational practices. This decision is considered the latest chapter in what some human rights groups describe as a broader security campaign against Muslims.
The Ibn Rushd private school, which is the first Islamic high school opened in 2003 in Lille, northern France, has over 800 students and has been under contract with the state since 2008. Students follow the standard French curriculum and also receive religious education.
However, the local office of the Ministry of the Interior stated in a report released in October, which was reviewed by Reuters, that the school suffers from administrative and financial dysfunction and that some of its teaching practices do not align with the values of the French Republic. The local office declined to provide further details regarding the termination of the contract.
Many Muslims feel that France, which has the largest Muslim community in Europe, has become increasingly hostile towards them, especially after a series of extremist attacks that led to deaths in 2015.
Eric Dufour, the director of Ibn Rushd, stated that he has not yet received notification from the local office of the Ministry of the Interior, but the school intends to appeal the decision in the administrative court. Dufour told Reuters last week in Lille, after being summoned to an education committee meeting in late November, which raised his concerns about a decision to terminate the school’s contract: "When it comes to the values of the Republic, we do more than any other school."
An inspection report from the Ministry of Education in 2020, reviewed by Reuters, stated that "there is nothing in the notes... that would lead us to believe that the teaching practices do not respect republican values." The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
