A teacher in Hoofdvaart College in Hoofddorp has been suspended since the end of January for allegedly insulting Prophet Muhammad. According to the General Education Union (AOb), this suspension is a first of its kind, where there has been serious action taken on a “religious issue”.

The situation in question was reported to the school’s management board by students. This case was (of course) picked up by De Telegraaf, where they claim to have the suspension letter from the management. According to them, the management has taken the step of suspension after the teacher’s alleged statements about Prophet Muhammed being a pedophile.

Although the newspaper does detail the incident to a certain extent, it is still unclear what has happened, and what was said. According to RTL Nieuws, the teacher in question denies these allegations. Also, following that news report on De Telegraaf, the Dunamare Education Group, of which the college comes under, issued a statement on their website saying that they are not going to disclose more information due to privacy of the individuals involved.

The suspension and mediation process

The suspension was issued “in the interests of the pupils, the employee, and the school” so as to investigate what happened, and what to do now. However, they also added that “mutual trust between the employee and the school management has been severely damaged”. De Telegraaf reports that the suspension has been extended to three months, though the statement on the education group’s website (surprise, surprise) makes no such claim.

The education group will be entering into a mediation process between the employee and the school management to decide what the next course of action will be in the short-term.

What do you make of this situation? Let us know in the comments.