Calvià City Council sends schools a text against Islam
This is a motion by Vox, approved by the PP, which considers that the subject's content "does not promote integration or national unity."
PalmThe Calvià City Council sent a Vox motion against Islamic teaching to the municipality's schools. The text was approved in the plenary session with votes from the People's Party (PP). According to ARA Baleares, through various sources, this was not an ordinary email. On July 1, the minutes of the plenary session in which the City Council approved the text were sent through the municipal electronic office. Schools that wanted to read them had to identify themselves and generate a reading notice. But many did not open them. Others read them and deleted them automatically. In any case, no city council has jurisdiction over what is taught in the area's schools. Municipal functions focus on ensuring their maintenance and paying for their utilities.
The City Council maintains that the Islamophobic text was sent to the schools (also to the Ministry of Education, the Government, and family associations) because that is what the motion stated and to respect the "democratic" majority of the plenary session. However, the municipal PSIB criticizes this action and warns that it will respond to any attack against citizens. The Socialists also claim to support the removal of religion from schools, but not just Islam.
The motion asks the government to demand that the state eliminate the teaching of Islam in the municipality's public schools. Vox says there are families "concerned" about content that, they argue, "does not promote integration or national unity." The teaching of Islam, like Catholicism, is governed by state regulations. In no case is it a regional or state responsibility.
The text argues that the educational model should be based "on the values of Western and Christian civilization, since Islam represents a worldview alien to these principles and encourages the formation of ideological and cultural ghettos within schools." "Instead of educating in common values, the segmentation of students according to their origin and religion is being legitimized." The motion asks the municipality's schools not to teach the subject, among other requests, in which Vox praises the Catholic religion and "Western values."
It should be noted that not all schools in the Balearic Islands teach Islamic religion, but there are certain requirements that must be met: public schools must have at least 10 students who request it, while private schools can teach it as long as the subject fits with the school's philosophy. In other words, Catholic schools, which comprise the majority of private schools, are not allowed to offer it.
Global offensive
In March, Vox Baleares announced "an offensive against the teaching of Islam in schools in the Balearic Islands." The far-right party lashed out against "the dangerous institutionalization of Islam in schools" and demanded an "end to its cultural imposition with taxpayer money." According to Vox, the teaching of this religion "represents a further step in the Islamization of classrooms and the progressive imposition of radical values incompatible with freedom and Spain's cultural identity."
The far-right also criticized the government's "complicity" while "radical Islam is infiltrating schools." In addition to mentioning Pedro Sánchez, they attacked the president of the government, Marga Prohens, and the regional minister of education, Antoni Vera. According to Santiago Abascal's party, they allow "Islam to advance into key areas such as education without resistance."