International
German school bans Muslim students from praying publicly
A heated debate about freedom of religion is currently underway in Germany after a high school in a western German city banned Muslim pupils from publicly praying, saying that all the religious acts associated with it are “provocative” to other students.
The decision by the Wuppertal high school is drawing criticism after the banning of pupils from using prayer rugs and other traditional Muslim rituals in public.
A spokeswoman for the regional administration of Wuppertal revealed that most teachers and students felt pressured by the behaviour of the Muslim pupils especially during prayers.
Read also: Spain appoints minister of s3x
Reports say the school sent a note to staff in February asking them to “identify” and “report” any cases of Muslim pupils praying on the school premises to the administration.
“In the last few weeks, it has increasingly been observed that Muslim students are praying, quite visibly to others, indicated by ritual washing in the bathrooms, the rolling out of prayer rugs, and by the students putting their bodies in certain positions. That is not permitted,” the letter had reportedly said.
Germany has seen a rise in anti-Islam and anti-immigration sentiment after the country opened its borders to more than 1.1 million refugees and migrants from predominantly Muslim countries.
RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears
Click here to download the Ripples Nigeria App for latest updates
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...