Ibn Rushd Secondary School in Lille, France (Island)

PARIS — In a rare and controversial decision, the governor of the north and the Hauts-de-France region, François Leclerc, announced the termination of the government's partnership contract with the private Islamic secondary school Ibn Rushd in Lille.

Ibn Rushd is the first Islamic high school founded in France 20 years ago and was awarded the country's best high school in 2013.

The governorate's statement said the foundation "does not represent the values of the republic and resembles a separatist establishment", with accusations of "obtaining foreign funding and education that is surrounded by question marks".

By researching the details of the case, Al Jazeera Net found gaps in the governor's 12-page report. We also tried to contact the governor for information, but he declined to make a statement.

Ibn Rushd Secondary School accepts students of all religions and ethnicities in France (Al Jazeera)

Gaps in the document

Governor François Leclerc opens the document by criticizing Islamic ethics as "Salafist," citing an article by writer Mohamed Louisi, who has campaigned against the high school for years, and some of his blogs are published on far-right media such as Causeur.

Leclerc apparently neglected to point out that Louisi had no relationship with the institution and was not a speaker or member of its education team.

Two official documents contradict the governor's version: in this year's inspection report, Islamic ethics courses were mentioned without any warning. The June 2020 academic inspection report stated that "there is nothing in the mission's findings to indicate that teaching practices deviate from established goals, principles, and values of the Republic."

The governor also pointed to a post by a teacher who was in charge of the ethics course at his own expense in 2015, following the attacks against Charlie Hebdo, which suggested he supported it. However, when examining the document, it was found that the governor did not clarify that the teacher had clearly condemned the attack in the same post, and that he had left the institution 18 months ago.

Ibn Rushd is the first Islamic high school founded in France 20 years ago (Al Jazeera)

Homosexuality and discrimination against Islamic schools

The governor relied on an inspection conducted last year to address the lack of cultural resources, homosexuality, secularism and abortion. What he didn't mention, however, was the inspectors' indication that they were unable to conduct an accurate digital search to determine these matters due to a software problem, prompting them to conduct an incomplete manual search.

In this context, the director of the Ibn Rushd Association, Makhlouf Mamesh, believes that what the governor said is a big mistake, as the administration presented a list of books, magazines and research in the school library that talk about all religions. There are 28 books on non-Islamic religions and 75 references on secularism, as well as 45 sources on homosexuality and 32 on abortion.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Mamish added that the province of Lille claims that the library displays books by Hassan Ikyusen (an imam who was deported from France in January 2023) even though he has never published any book in his lifetime. Indeed, the governor confuses a work published by his son Osman with Catholic Christian Deepvre entitled "Peace be upon you, yes religions are created to unite," which the authorities allowed.

François Desroche, president of Justice and Rights Without Borders, wonders why homosexuality is promoted exclusively in Islamic high schools, while the same is not required for other Christian or Jewish institutions.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Desroches highlights the current discrimination by saying, "There are only two Islamic secondary schools in France, while we find about 5,1700 Catholic high schools and <>,<> Jewish high schools.

Ibn Rushd Islamic School won the award for the best secondary school in France in 2013 (Al Jazeera)

Financial accusations

As for the financial accusations, the governor wrote in his report that Ibn Rushd's sources of funding "raise questions."

The Ibn Rushd Association received donations from an international NGO for a total amount of 943,2011 euros between 2015 and <>. These donations were known to the state and were made through banks, according to the secondary school director.

The General Inspectorate of Education, Sports and Research explained in June 2020 that "the situation boils down to the donation made by an internationally recognized NGO to an educational institution. This practice is legal, provided that it is not subject to the application of conditions contrary to the values of the Republic, and the donation has not been linked to any conditions, and the Hauts-de-France region is aware of this in principle."

In this regard, Mamish stresses that there is no French law that prohibits foreign donations, "even Jewish and Catholic schools receive donations, and if it is forbidden, it should be banned for everyone, not just Muslims."

Several cultural and social activities carried out by the "Ibn Rushd" Islamic Secondary School in France (Al Jazeera)

Continuous monitoring

Ibn Rushd director Eric Devore pointed out that the high school is the most monitored in France, as it has undergone dozens of audits from the Regional Chamber of Accounts, the Regional Directorate of Public Finance and academic inspections.

He praised the support provided to the institution by unions and politicians, especially from the left, who consider what is happening discriminatory, as other institutions of other religions are not subject to this much monitoring.

The inspectors' mission determined in 2020 that "the 13 teacher inspections carried out at the institution since 2015, make it the most monitored institution in the Academy, without making any negative remarks that contradict the observed teaching methods."

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Devore pointed out that "the Minister of Education said that he has nothing against the secondary, but the Ministry of Interior is the one who manages the file because we are accused of political Islam," adding that "there are French parties, most notably the National Assembly, which leads campaigns against Muslims. There is clearly pressure on the political climate in the country."

Appeal of the decision

Lawyers Vincent Bringarth and William Bourdon, speaking to local media, denounced what they called a "political gang", noting that "all possible avenues of appeal will be filed as soon as possible" before the administrative court.

The director of the secondary in his speech to the island net that the governor's report "contains many fallacies and slanders and we will prove it. We are always in contact with staff and families of students and will do our best to continue."

Confident in the judicial system, François Desroches says that the school fought 5 proceedings with the state and won all of them, adding, "They consider that Islam is dangerous for the republic, but the man who goes to pray in peace does not pose a danger, they fear the formation of an elite of young Muslims."

Desroches wonders if the fear is caused by attracting non-Muslim French families to benefit from the country's outstanding education, as high school not only welcomes Muslims, but is open to all religions.

While Mamish confirmed that they have conclusive evidence for the governor, but he resolved to terminate the contract and break the achievements of high school, which led to cutting off contact with him and going to the judiciary through two law firms in Paris and Lille, "because this is the first time in the history of France, the state terminates its contract with an educational institution."

If the decree is confirmed, it would mean that the high school, where more than 50 percent of students receive scholarships, will lose 300,<> euros in annual subsidies it has received from the government since the start of the school year, and it will put an end to teachers' salaries by the Ministry of Education.

Source : Al Jazeera