More and more parents are choosing to send their child to an Islamic primary school. Because they don’t have enough space, there are often waiting lists. “The Wildersen and Baudetten of the Netherlands are often very negative about Muslims. You notice that parents are looking for safety as a result,” says Mohamed Talbi of the Islamic Primary Education Foundation.
This year there was no room for 50 children in both Tilburg and Breda. That is why a second primary school based on Islamic principles is being built in Tilburg West. And a school will also be built in Oosterhout.
According to Mohamed Talbi, the success of Islamic education has to do with the social climate in our country. Talbi’s foundation has four schools in Central and West Brabant.
“Wilders gets the opposite of what he wants.”
Talbi thinks that many Muslim parents want to send their child to a school where they think it is safe: “Where they are welcome. This actually gives Wilders the exact opposite of what he would like.”
According to Talbi, the quality of Islamic education has improved considerably: “I have very good contacts with all schools in the region. I think they do a really good job too. But in rankings that are made annually, you see that Islamic and reformed schools generally score well.”
Islamic education used to have an image problem: “But now parents see that the schools are doing relatively well. If you combine that with the Islamic religious education that we also provide, then you know why Islamic schools are growing so much.”
Yet it is not always easy to start a new school. In Oosterhout, the school board has to go to court to enforce a good place for their school. Most Muslim children live in the Oosterheide district, but the municipality has made a building available in Dommelbergen, about five kilometers away. The Islamic school board has now gone to court to get a place that is closer.
“You shouldn’t be fussy about Islamic education.”
In Tilburg, the location for a second primary school is certain. Next school year there will be a school in Tilburg West, where many children with an Islamic background live. An old building in the Dragonstraat, which now houses a temporary community center, will be demolished to make way for the school. Talbi: “We will start with two kindergarten classes and slowly expand.”
The municipality of Tilburg supports Islamic education. Mayor Theo Weterings: “You shouldn’t be tense about this. In our country, schools have always been able to operate on the basis of religious beliefs. We have freedom of education and that is what we stand for, so that means that an Islamic school must be able to develop. But schools also need to collaborate with other groups in society.”
Islamic education in the Netherlands falls under special education, just like Roman Catholic and Protestant education. Pupils at an Islamic school follow the same education as pupils at other schools and must meet the same quality standards. The difference lies in the extra attention given to the religious beliefs.