The student has an Islamic background and felt the need to pray in a quiet place. Because there is no quiet room at her school, she looked for a classroom. The vice-principal saw this happen and intervened because, according to him, she would block the passage for other students.
Later that year, the student asks the school to set up a room where she can pray. A fellow student starts a petition to set up such a quiet room. This initiative has received a lot of support; the petition is signed 235 times.
No prayer room
A discussion will then take place with the student who set up the petition, a number of fellow students and the rector. The rector explains that it is allowed to pray at school and that she will investigate the wish for an inclusive quiet space. Ultimately it is decided not to fulfill that wish.
According to the Haarlemmermeer Lyceum, it is not their task to set up a separate prayer room, due to the ‘public character of the school’. The school indicates that it wants to remain neutral and treat every student equally. The educational institution was afraid that the space would only be used by Muslim students. According to the school, these children would have a privilege over other students if they had their own space.
Distinction based on faith
The Board finds the school’s explanation insufficient. The student also indicated that she several times looked for a place where she would not be a burden to other students. Dutch law prohibits discrimination on the basis of religious beliefs. A public school is also bound by these rules, the Board emphasizes.
The Board believes that it cannot be established that there is a general ban on praying at the school. It is certain that the vice-principal intervened when the student was praying and that the wish to set up a quiet room was not met.
The Board believes that being able to express one’s religious beliefs is not a privilege, but a fundamental human right. For that reason, the Board finds that the school makes direct discrimination on the basis of religion.
‘Deliberately no religious facilities’
The Haarlemmermeer Lyceum informed the ANP through rector Brenda Stam that she does not recognize the statement. “We are and remain a philosophically neutral school that wants to be there for all students. Based on that neutrality, we consciously choose not to provide religious facilities for specific groups.”
The school says it would not hinder or prohibit prayer, as long as this does not disrupt education or hinder others.
