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Rabat – Al-Kindi, the only private high school in France and the sole Muslim institution with state partnership, is standing before the administrative court of Lyon today to appeal authorities’ decision to terminate its contract.
The prefecture of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes announced earlier on January 10 the termination of Al Kindi primary school, middle school and high school, on allegations of “carrying out a project contrary to the values of the Republic,” as well as “defects and dysfunctions” that were observed during inspection.
The inspection report, carried out in October of 2024 following another in April of the same year, stated that two “radical” books were found at the school library, one of which they claim prompts “violent jihad.”
The report also denounced statements made by one of the professors on Youtube, in which he allegedly supported controversial imams, including some that were expelled from France. Additionally, the report deemed school dress code rules – such as the ban of skin tight dress and makeup – as discriminatory against girls.
The school, which has previously appealed this decision several times to no avail, responded to the report by declaring that it amended its rule book to put an end to any distinction between boys and girls, and that it has let go of the professor who made the controversial remarks.
Al-Kindi, which educates 620 students, also addressed the allegations regarding the books that were deemed “radical” explaining that the authorities read the text in “literalistic” and non-contextualised manner, especially that some of them are part of traditional Islamic literature and can be found at different establishments, including the regional municipal libraries.
This oversight and discrepancies bring to question whether the French court is swayed by Islamophobic bias, which is not uncommon within different public regulations throughout the European country.
Farid Benmoussa, Councillor of Venissieux in the suburbs of Lyon, addressed this decision in an op-ed published in a local newspaper. “Only two high schools have lost their accreditation in 30 years, and unsurprisingly, they [were] two Muslim schools,” he said in reference to Averroes, a high school that was sanctioned a year prior.
“For the past three years, private Muslim schools have faced a lot of inspections. Private Catholic schools are inspected once every 15 years, while private Muslim schools, whether under contract or not, are inspected every year,” he said.
