Majorca Schools to Introduce Islamic Education Classes This Fall

The Ministry of Education signed an agreement in 2019 with the Islamic Commission of the Balearic Islands to teach Islam in public educational centers. But the agreement could not be implemented in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, reports Diario de Mallorca.

The agreement provides for the teaching of Islam in about ten schools that will be selected in August. The teachers to be deployed in these schools will also be selected by the Islamic Commission after a call for applications. "We will define rigorous criteria of competence, capacity and equality for the recruitment of these teachers," said the Director General of Planning.

During the pilot phase, two teachers will be hired to teach Islam in the classrooms. About 900 candidates across the Balearic Islands have already submitted their applications for this position. As for the 170 Catholic religion teachers, they will be maintained for this school year.

The 2019 agreement has not yet been applied in the Balearic Islands and Murcia. "We will apply the law and we would like it to be accepted by all, because Muslim citizens are Spanish citizens in their own right," said the Director General of Planning.