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ISLAM

Islam teacher reinstated after ‘Paris comments’

An Islamic studies teacher from Graz who was suspended by the board of education after allegedly defending the Paris shootings to his pupils has been told he can teach again - as there was insufficient evidence he ever made the statements.

Islam teacher reinstated after 'Paris comments'
Photo: EPA/BILAWAL ARBAB

Some of the man’s students reported him to social workers and the school principal in January, saying that he had told them it is acceptable to hurt and even kill somebody who offends Allah.

A judicial team who investigated the matter said there was no evidence that he had made the statements to the students, and if he did, it was only to a very small number of students. The regional school board has said it will be “keeping an eye on the situation”.

The man is employed as a teacher at a 'middle school' for children aged between ten and 14.

"As soon as the Graz prosecutor has signed off the investigation's findings we will cancel the teacher’s suspension,” a spokeswoman for Styria’s school board president told the Austrian Press Agency. She added that it had been a "difficult and unpleasant situation," for the school and that it would be monitored closely in the future.