Case Study: School , , How do teachers best deal with Islamists outbursts? How much help can they offer without getting into disciplinary trouble?

Young people are particularly at risk of becoming radicalised. They are often looking for guidance and affiliation. Islamist groups such as the Salafists specifically recruit young people and offer them strict value systems and a committed community. If a school child suddenly undergoes radical change, this is often noticed in class. How do you deal with this as a teacher? Teachers can get advice on this from the Advice Centre on Radicalisation. Lukas'* teacher took up this offer.

Lukas provokes with messages of hate

Lukas’ teacher noticed him in the very first class. The boy was sitting alone at a table in the back of the classroom. An outsider, the teacher thought, someone no one wants to sit next to. Or someone who seemed bothersome. As the teacher introduced himself, Lukas scribbled in his notebook, pointedly bored. Only when the Syrian conflict was on the syllabus a few weeks later did Lukas suddenly seem interested. What followed was nerve-racking: Lukas constantly interrupted his classmates to express his opinion. In Syria, the Muslims would finally fulfil their religious duty and support their oppressed fellow believers in the Jihad, he kept saying. The warriors of the Islamic State would have done well to kill the kuffar, the infidels, in the Dar al-Kufr. His teacher tried to question his statements, but that only made the boy angrier.

Aggressive teenager or extremist?

Scenes like these occurred repeatedly. Lukas always stood out in class with provocative, hateful remarks. His teacher was worried. He had often experienced provocations, which was normal for youths, but the aggressiveness and the claim to truth were extreme. How could he handle this? Should he involve his superiors? Would it be good to simply ask the student if he had friends who interpreted Islam radically or maybe even belonged to the Salafists? To what extent was he allowed to offer the boy help without the threat of disciplinary difficulties? Lukas’ teacher was struggling with himself. He hardly knew the boy, the first parents' evening was still to come. After careful consideration, he decided to continue watching Lukas for the time being.

Lukas threatens his classmate

A little later, a boy from Lukas’ class was standing in front of the teachers' room. His teacher immediately saw that the boy was angry. Lukas had once again angered him with his religious views. The student said that Lukas was particularly interested in him because he was also a Muslim. The discussion had become increasingly heated. At some point, Lukas had started to call him names and threaten him.

Advice on radicalisation for teachers

Lukas' teacher retreated into an empty classroom during the break and called the Advice Centre on Radicalisation. He had come across the Centre the day before while doing research online and had decided to get help there to answer his questions. He didn't have much time, and he could say very little about Lukas. But what he had experienced so far, according to the employee on the other end of the line, could actually mean that Lukas had become radicalised. She recommended that he discuss the next steps with a local counsellor. He could look up the address on the website or leave his contact details, and then the Advice Centre on Radicalisation would establish the contact.
The school is now working with the local counselling centre and Lukas’ parents to get the boy out of his radical Islamist circles. The student had actually joined an extremist group on the Internet. Thanks to the counselling, it is now easier for the teacher to deal with Lukas and integrate him into school life.

*Lukas’ case is fictitious. We treat all the information of our callers as strictly confidential, so this is not a real case.