Throughout many schools in France, Muslim students refused to comply with a moment of silence to honor the victims of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. While some spoke obnoxiously loudly during the 60 second period, others yelled “Allahu Akbar!” or “God is great.” In another incident, a group of young Muslims dishonored the moment of silence, telling their teacher, “You reap what you sow,” the Washington Post reports.
At another school in Seine-Saine-Denis, some 80 percent of students refused to honor the moment of silence, saying that the Charlie Hebdo staff “deserved what they got” for insulting Islam’s Muhammad, reports Le Figaro. In another incident in Lille, a young boy threatened to shoot his teacher “with a Kalashnikov” for asking him to remain silent during the minute of remembrance. Others spoke highly of jihadists who had joined ISIS and fought on behalf of Islam abroad.
“You do not understand the Prophet, they should not have drawn it… He is above men,” was another student’s explanation as to why he was not going to respect the minute of silence.
At a gathering of 400 students at a Roubaix college, a teacher said many of the students explained that they did not “fully understand” the point of the moment of silence. Some said they were “for those who killed” the people at Charlie Hebdo, the teacher explained.
A 14-year-old explained that not all of the Charlie Hebdo employees deserved to die, just the one that drew Muhammad.
The French Ministry of Education reported that some 70 schools reported incidents where students rejected the moment of silence.
Another reporter expressed that the issue of French Muslim students dishonoring the moment of silence remained a nationwide issue. “I’m already getting reports from people in France that some schools in those strongly Muslim neighborhoods, the kids didn’t stand for the minute’s silence,” A BBC reporter told MSNBC on Monday. “They see those attackers as heroes,” she added.
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