Press Release
Danish Politicians Reveal their Colonialist Mentality toward Muslim Schools

For the past week, the Danish media have once again been focusing on the Muslim schools. This renewed focus comes after Dan Jørgensen, spokesman on matters of integration for the Social Democrats, declared that his party is now aligned with the right-wing Danish People’s Party in the matter of Muslim schools, as both parties want them shut down by removing public subsidies from independent schools where more than half the students have non-western backgrounds. In this manner, the Social Democrats attempt to compete with the government in anti-Islamic initiatives.

Only last year, the government changed the law for independent schools to enable intensified supervision of independent schools, and it was made mandatory that the schools work to “strengthen and develop the students’ democratic culture” – all this with the declared intention of “tightening the grip” on Muslim schools. Furthermore, supervisors were enabled to act as thought-police by testing the students’ “democratic mindset” without the presence of teachers, school principals or parents.

Now, the politicians are yet again aiming at the independent Muslim schools, although several studies have shown that in many areas, these schools perform academically better than the public schools. The stated reasons for these continuous attacks on the Muslim schools are that they “counteract integration”; that the schools must culture the students in western, secular values; and the wish to counter formation of “parallel societies”. As examples of unacceptable conditions in Muslim schools, the politicians mention teaching the Quran, and students being advised against sexual relations outside of marriage.

In light of the above, we in Hizb ut Tahrir Scandinavia point out the following:

1. The smear campaign against Muslim schools is happening only because there are Muslim schools. The Danish politicians cannot bear that Muslims hold on to Islam as their reference in life and naturally want to raise and culture their children with Islam.

2. Yet again, the Danish politicians reveal a total lack of confidence in their own values as they resort to totalitarian means in the attempt to forcefully assimilate Muslims in the western culture and lifestyle – this time focusing on the Muslim schools. Thus, the politicians uncover their own weakness and the weakness of their values.

3. The latest attack on the Muslim schools must be viewed as another step in the ongoing course of prohibition and coercion, which are the only means left to those in power against the steadfastness of the Muslims in holding on to their identity and values. The ideals of “freedom” have failed, and no one believes in the myth of Danish tolerance and open-mindedness anymore. They gladly change their laws and adopt special laws in contradiction with their own basic principles as soon as the matter has anything to do with (attacking) Islam and Muslims.

4. Just as the western powers colonized the Muslim lands in the past century after the dismemberment of the Muslims’ state, the Caliphate, and then secularized the educational systems to impose their culture by dictating the curricula, so do the Danish politicians, with the same colonialist mentality, attempt to wrestle from the Muslim children their Islamic identity and indoctrinate them with western culture under cover of concepts such as “integration”, “democratic education and citizenship” and countering social control and parallel societies.

5. It is a duty upon the Muslims to protect their Islamic identity and stand firm, for it is based on absolute rational proof and emanates from the final message of The Creator, which is inherently superior to any man-made values, including those of the West.

6. We encourage the Muslim school boards and principals not to succumb to threats and pressure, and to not compromise on their children’s Islamic identity or diminish the Islamic character of the schools to near invisibility. Muslims send their children to these schools in the hope that it will help them protect their Islamic identity in a society, where the prevailing culture and politics counteract the Islamic values.

Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Scandinavia