At the Teachers’ Mercy

A closed Muslim world. A Swedish school run by Muslims. You’ll notice a difference. In front of the hidden camera, the headmaster promised that swedish law would not impede mandatory wearing of head-scarves, severe corporal punishment or even genital mutilation. Wearing a head-scarf, the reporter visited some ten of the Muslim independent schools set up in the past decade. In Sweden, independent schools are taxfinanced and required to operate under the same laws as those applying to the rest of the country’s schools. However, many headmasters were prepared to go quite far in meeting parents’ wishes. Such accommodation was particularly generous regarding demands that limited girls’ rights. The exposé of the Muslim headmasters’ true views on equality and corporal punishment precipitated vigorous debate. Critics claimed the program further stigmatised Swedish Muslims. One year later, the makers of the original program produced a follow-up. The latter exposed how staff at two Muslim independent schools were including severe degradation and torture-like punishments in their pedagogy.