Dutch teacher suspended for insulting Prophet Muhammad

A teacher was suspended from the Hoofdvaart College in Hoofddorp in January for insulting the Prophet Mohammad, the Telegraaf reports based on the suspension letter from the school management, which the newspaper has in its possession.

According to the letter, the teacher said that the Prophet Mohammad was married to an 8-year-old girl and that this is seen as pedophilia in the Netherlands. The teacher contradicts the accusation, according to the newspaper.

General education union AOb called this an "unique situation", saying that this is the first time that a teacher was suspended because of a religious issue, RTL Nieuws reports.

The Dunamare Onderwijsgroep, which covers the VMBO school in Hoofddorp, posted a response on its website. "In the interest of the pupils, the employee and the school, a time-out has been set up to investigate what exactly happened, and how to proceed", the education group wrote.

The Dunamare executive board is in conversation with both the employee and the school management. That conversation showed that mutual trust between the management and employee was "seriously damaged", the education group said. "This has resulted in a proposal for a mediation process with an independent and impartial mediator to discuss with each other in the short term what the best possible follow-up can be for both the employee and the school."