Background
The current Right-Wing coalition ruling Sweden, elected in 2018, has now closed 17 out of the 19 Islamic schools in the country. This vicious attack on Islam is part of a growing trend of Anti-Muslim hate across the continent and around the World. Among the most recent cases is al-Azhar, which the authorities accused of endangering the students with “radicalism”, but this is seen by the Swedish-Muslim community as a smokescreen to attack the Muslim community. Often these closures have been done with accusations based on no evidence, in one a school was closed down simply because a teacher had visited Syria.
This is coming at a time when parties within the Right-wing coalition government of Sweden have relied heavily on the promotion of Islamophobia in order to garner votes. It is unacceptable that children should have to suffer because of such institutional Islamophobia.
Action Required
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Model Template
[Your name]
[Your address]
[Date]
Dear Commissioner,
Re: The closing of Islamic Schools in Sweden
I am writing to express my deep concern at the situation in Sweden, where the right-wing government has shut down 17 of the 19 Islamic schools, for unfounded accusations. In one case a school was shut down because one of the teachers visited Syria, despite having no evidence to suggest that he went there for any illegal reasons, nor him having any previous record or history of being engaged in any illegal activity.
Article 26:3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that all parents have the right to choose what type of education their children should receive, and this is especially relevant when put in the context of Article 18, which is meant to guarantee freedom of religious or philosophical thought.
Many Muslims, are deeply disappointed that once again, a country is engaging in anti-Muslim hatred, and it is being shrugged off and ignored by the World. As more countries become influenced by this virus of anti-Muslim hatred, harder it will become to sort out the problem. I am calling on the you to finally start leading campaigns to hold these governments to account for discriminatory practices against Muslims.
Yours Sincerely
[Your name]
Address
Council of Europe
Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights
67075 Strasbourg Cedex
France
Alternatively, you can message her online at: https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/contact
