Belgian Teacher Suspended for Showing Explicit Cartoon to 5th Graders

The suspension of the teacher is not due to the religious aspect of the caricature, but rather to its indecent nature. The image of the naked Prophet Muhammad, signed by a Charlie Hebdo cartoonist and titled "a star is born", was shown in a 5th grade class, with 10-year-old children.

"It is therefore not the fact of addressing the subject of caricatures that posed a problem for us, but it is the chosen medium, which is for us unsuitable for 10-year-old children," relays rtbf.be, citing mayor Catherine Moureaux, "while we are living in a difficult climate on these issues, to suggest that we could curb freedom of expression or refuse debates on this subject would be dramatic."

The provisional suspension and the first hearing of the disciplinary procedure against the teacher were opened on Thursday, the mayor confirmed to the Belga press agency. But this suspension quickly made the rounds of social media, with several comments on Twitter by political figures. "In Molenbeek, they fire a teacher because he dares to show a caricature of Muhammad. Shocking," tweeted Theo Francken (N-VA).