An 18-year-old woman has been arrested in Rotterdam in connection with online threats to an Emmaus College teacher, reports RTL Nieuws.
The woman is suspected to be behind the original social media message that prompted a wave of hostile messages toward the school and teacher. The teacher has since gone into hiding as police investigate.
A misunderstanding
The threats were in regard to a cartoon drawing hanging on the teacher’s classroom wall. The cartoon featured an image of a bearded man, whom some Muslim students interpreted to be the prophet Mohammed. In their religion, this image would be seen as blasphemy.
Author of the cartoon, Joep Bertrams, is shocked and says it’s one big misunderstanding. “Students think the prophet is in the drawing, but it isn’t,” he tells RTL Nieuws.
Horror in parliament
In parliament, representatives react in complete agreement, calling it “terrible” and “unacceptable.” PvdA leader Lodewijk Asscher says, “Freedom is non-negotiable. Hitlers must be dealt with.”
VVD parliament member Rudmer Heerma finds it “unacceptable” that the teacher has had to go into hiding and that students cannot attend their classes as usual.
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