Netherlands: school trip to mosque cancelled

A planned school trip to a mosque and its cancellation have been blown out of proportions, according to the Christian school principal, H. J. Altena, and the Dutch minister of Education.

The trip was planned in the framework of a project week about the "colorful school". A group of students chose "brown" as their topic and came up with such subjects as chocolate, bread, and people of other colors. That led to Islam and to the idea to visit a mosque.

However 3 of the 23 parents objected. Altena therefore canceled the trip, but visited the Turkish imam on his own. The imam was very understanding, saying there were people in his own mosque who would be against visiting a church.

The decision came up for discussion in parliament, since some parliament members see this as a lost opportunity to improve integration and cultural understanding.

Source: Reformatorisch Dagblad (Dutch)

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