Many Muslim students refused moment of silence in French schools

Last Thursday, schools throughout France observed a moment of silence in memory of the people murdered at Charlie Hebdo.

But in Muslim neighborhoods, teachers faced an uphill  battle to get the students to observe any respect for the dead.

In an elementary school in Seine-Saint-Denis, no less than 80% of students in one class refused the minute of silence. The teacher ended convincing half of them.

Some students tried to explain their decision to the teachers. "But you do not understand the Prophet, they should not be allowed to draw him...He is above man ", said a sixth grader to his teacher. Another student said, "They had it coming. You reap what you sow. " In another class with 26 college students, eight rejected the decision to declare a day of national mourning. On Facebook, a teacher says she was greeted at 8:00 by "I support those who killed them ..."

A 14 year old said that not all 12 people deserved to be killed, but the one who drew Mohammed did.

A fake bomb, with the message "I am not Charlie," was found in one school.

Another teacher tweeted that a student told him his mother said the victims had it coming. He wasn't sure how he could override Mommy.

Other cases were reported in the media as well. The French Ministry of Education issued a press release that the vast majority of schools held the moment of silence without incident, and that there were only problems at 70 out of 64,000 schools, and that those cases were taken very seriously.

(h/t Ben Ivel)