Spain Includes Islam in School Curriculum

Barcelona, ​​MINA – Spain has decided to start teaching Islam in public schools, to encourage integration and interfaith unity.

The plan was announced by the Ministry of Education last week in the form of a resolution in the Official Journal of the Generalitat de Catalunya (DOGC), which states that primary schools will begin teaching Islam from the 2020/2021, Spanish newspaper El Pais reported.

The new plans, which will begin in Barcelona, ​​Baix Llobregat, Girona, and Tarragona, will campaign for unity and diversity, as well as revisit at the history of Muslims in Spain.

The plan is the result of a cooperation agreement between the Spanish state and the Islamic Commission of Spain, following increasing demand of the growing Muslim population.

The plan also guarantees that Muslim students will receive Islamic religious education in public schools at the level of child education, primary, secondary and high school.

The Spanish Islamic Commission will appoint teachers to teach this curriculum.

In Catalonia, there are more than 1.5 million Muslims out of the two million Muslims in Spain. This is followed by Andalusia, with a population of over 300,000 Muslims, and Madrid with 280,000 Muslims.

According to the Union of Islamic Communities (UCIDE), Muslims make up 3.8 percent of Spain’s population, 40 percent are native Spanish citizens and the remaining 60 percent are immigrants.

Muslims in Spain mostly come from Morocco despite the significant presence of Pakistani and Senegalese Muslims in cities such as Barcelona, ​​Valencia, and Logrono. (T/R7/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)