Despite a tiny Muslim population in the Czech Republic, a new project launched by the Muslims In Czech Schoolchildren’s Eyes group and approved by the Education Ministry, offers seminars and lectures about the quran, burkas, and jihad that would acquaint pupils with Islam and the life and habits of Muslims.
The lecturers want to explain to Czech children what a burka is and why some Muslim women wear it, and also what the Quran says about jihad, LN writes, citing the Muslimove.cz web page.

Baghead Brigade in Prague
The seminars, including games, are to provide information to Czech kids and dismiss certain prejudices and stereotypes linked to Islam, the paper writes.
During a discussion on sexual mores in Muslim cultures, Muslim students explain why Muslim boys won’t have sex with Muslim girls.
“School lessons do not pay sufficient attention to Islam. Pupils want to learn more about it,” the project’s co-author Shadi Shannah is quoted as saying.

The Muslim community in the Czech Republic is very small, but still it raises strong emotions. Muslim-related issues appear almost daily in TV news, newspapers and Internet debates.

However, regular school lessons touch on them only marginally, as a result of which most pupils are unable to critically assess the media information,” the authors write on Muslimove.cz. The Education Ministry has granted its auspices to the project. It did so based on a previous expert assessment of whether the offered workshops and lectures are objective, LN writes.
The project’s sponsors include the U.S. Embassy in Prague and the Anna Lindh Foundation, an intergovernmental organization. The EU mission in Prague and the Prague Municipal Library also cooperate in it. The project reacts to a survey its authors had made in 2013 and in which pupils showed interest in learning more about Islam.
