Feuding camps within As-Siddieq schools are finally speaking out about administrative chaos: ‘If I’m not careful, I will soon be classified as a terrorist’

Cries for help from staff, a report to the police, petitions on both sides, a staff exodus, parents who do not dare to speak out – what started as a disagreement about a manager between a few directors has grown into a major crisis, for which judges work overtime.

A management crisis has been festering for four years at As-Siddieq, the largest Islamic educational institution in Amsterdam, with more than 1,100 students and 200 employees. There is now a threat of closure of the three primary schools (Al Jawhara in East, Al Yaqoet in North and Al Maes in West) because Education Minister Mariëlle Paul is withholding tons of government funding. The fact that decent education is still provided is not because of, but in spite of, the board, the inspectorate believes.

Much of the dirty laundry was kept indoors due to a press boycott. Now that they are in dire straits, those involved are speaking for the first time Het Parool. Both rival camps claim to represent the majority of parents and staff. The current directors say that everything is running smoothly now, the other camp cannot wait for their resignation.

Limit reached

“So many lies have been told by the board, for me the limit has been reached,” is how Petri Kok-Sultan, a kindergarten teacher at Al Jawhara, explains her willingness to talk. “The idea that it could be harmful to the image of the schools previously put me off. Now I see no other way out.”

Kok-Sultan is on the participation council of Al Jawhara, the school that is considered a source of resistance against the board. The other two As-Siddieq schools think that Minister Paul should leave them alone.

She is not appreciated for the fact that Kok-Sultan has been asking critical questions with the participation council for months. “Initially I signed letters with my name. I stopped doing that when I received phone calls in January from men pretending to be the fathers of students unknown to me.”

She reported it to the local police officer. After the board heard about this, the phone calls stopped, according to Kok-Sultan. She suspects they came from supporters of the administration, although she has no proof.

Also mysterious was the Facebook account of a critical mother that was taken over and suddenly had a dog as a profile photo. In Islamic circles, a dog is considered unclean and this is a huge insult. Jokes were made about it in a group app from parents who were opposed to the board. It is unclear who was responsible for the short-lived takeover of the account.

Hate speech

The joint participation council (gmr) of the schools has been split into two camps. Nawal (parent of four children; she does not want her last name mentioned) is chairman of the GMR faction that supports the board. In an email last month, she accused the Al Jawhara participation council of ‘sowing hatred’ at Al Yaqoet. As if ‘all parties that do not support Al Jawhara should be eliminated’.

Education assistant Samira Farid is also a member of the GMR and has expressed her confidence in the board. Like Kok-Sultan, she is a convert. That plays a role in the conflict, they think. Kok-Sultan: “I heard that on the schoolyard of Al Yaqoet in Noord, parents were told that those two converted Muslim women wanted to turn it into a Dutch public school.”

The management crisis can be traced to a conflict in 2020 over the director-manager to whom the three school directors report. Although the inspectorate was satisfied, his contract was not renewed. The board then split into two camps, which paralyzed decision-making at the schools.

The Ministry of Education terminated the board in 2022 after yet another critical inspection report, which warned that the quality of education was under pressure and that there had been almost three hundred thousand euros in unlawful expenditure. Money went to amusement parks, ice cream cart rental and tourist vouchers. Almost 8,000 euros concerned ‘additional compensation’ for an ‘organization assistant’.

There was a conflict of interest at the Koran schools that teach on Saturdays in As-Siddieqlokalen. These lessons are provided by the El Tawheed Mosque, traditionally the main Salafist center in Amsterdam.

Attention from the AIVD

The fact that a board member and imam of the mosque – Samy Deghedy – was chairman of the board of the As-Siddieq schools attracted the attention of the AIVD intelligence service. Reported in 2022 Het Parool about recruiting informants at schools.

Deghedy’s resignation was a demand from the ministry. At the end of last year he left the As-Siddieq board. But his role does not seem to be over yet. Kok-Sultan: “As a spiritual leader, he is respected in the community. Especially at Al Maes, which is close to the mosque. Many parents visit the mosque.”

Farid: “We hear that he has his finger on the pulse. If they know in the mosque that you are against the government, you have a problem.”

According to them, Al Jawhara’s isolated position within As-Siddieq is related to the fact that it is the only one of the three schools that does not rent rooms to the Tawheed Mosque for Arabic lessons at the weekend. “We do not want to favor one mosque. I don’t think that is fun for Mr. Deghedy.”

Controversial place of worship

In a formal sense, Degehdy’s resignation has severed the ties between the As-Siddieq board and the Tawheed Mosque. Now there is a connection with another controversial house of worship: the Eindhoven Al Fourqaan Mosque. This caused former mayor Rob van Gijzel worries about radical trends.

The new chairman of the board, Farid El Moussaui, also heads the foundation that runs the Al Fourqaan Mosque. Education Minister Paul approved his appointment in Amsterdam. She had three conditions: experience as a supervisor, internal support and no previous relationship with As-Siddieq.

At Al Yaqoet they are satisfied with the current administration. “They have been working hard on improvements since January,” says GMR member Nawal. “Mr Moussaui addressed their concerns in a conversation with parents.”

But one crucial position at the As-Siddieq schools is still vacant. If there is not a new director by June 1, Minister Paul will stop all financing. That would mean the irrevocable end of the schools. Nawal and two supporters believe the ministry should be more patient. “The new directors have hardly had a chance to prove themselves. Only a small minority is against. It seems as if the inspectorate and the ministry are ignoring the majority.”

Nawal is strongly opposed to the so far failed attempt by the Public Prosecution Service (OM) to replace the entire board with outsiders, appointed by the Ministry of Education. “That will create instability,” she warns. “They will not have a good sense of our identity. There is solidarity here, we are one family. We want to keep it that way.”

On Thursday, the court rejected the Public Prosecution Service’s demand to immediately dismiss the board. The current directors will still have a few weeks to appoint a new director. If that doesn’t work, they will be suspended as of June 1 and outsiders appointed by the ministry will form a temporary board.

Conservative schools

Mohamed Bouimj warns that such an interim board can count on a ‘revolt among parents’. Bouimj is an official ‘supporter’ of the current board. In practice, he has been acting as acting director since July (a different position than that of chairman El Moussaui, who must supervise the director). “As-Siddieq is completely different from other Islamic schools,” Bouimj said. “They are conservative. They emphasize the identity of Muslims.”

In the school building of Al Yaqoet, Bouimj tells his side of the story. “When I came, I literally stepped into trouble. Eighteen employees at Al Yaqoet had left after arguments. A replacement was arranged at short notice. There were fourteen reports of illness from employees at Al Maes. The inspectorate is now much more positive about these schools. I have appointed new directors and restored peace.”

However, the inspectorate is still not satisfied with the quality of management. There are still shortcomings in important areas, she writes in her most recent report.

Room for rebuttal

Bouimj recently complained in court that he is not given any room for rebuttal in the media. He didn’t say that Het Parool has repeatedly approached him and other directors about this. He now denies saying anything like that in court. He also denies having imposed an area ban last year on a previously dismissed director, of which Het Parool has proof.

Bouimj says that a small minority is driving the unrest. “The ministry and the inspectorate listen to a small group that throws mud. We have an Arabic proverb: he has hit me, then he cries and then he is the first to complain.”

He starts about ‘a director of another school’ (meaning Al Jawhara). “She told the inspector that she felt unsafe with me. The inspectorate then asked other directors whether they also felt the same way. I thought: if I am not careful, I will be classified as unsafe today, the day after tomorrow I will be accused of inappropriate behavior and after that I will be a terrorist.”

False representation

At Al Jawhara they are not happy with Bouimj and the board. “They didn’t do anything for us,” says Samira Farid. “In September 2022, two directors promised at a parent meeting to resign if financial sanctions were imposed. The sanctions came, but they are still there. How is that possible?”

When asked, director Elhoucine El Hilali states that the board has ‘no active memory’ of this promise.

The employees of Al Jawhara think it is a false representation that everyone at Al Yaqoet in Noord supports the board. “I have messages from parents who support us, but do not dare to speak out. Moreover, a large part of the staff left there last summer out of dissatisfaction.”

From email messages in the hands of Het Parool It appears that employees of all three schools were unhappy with the way things were going at that time. They let out a ‘cry for help’ to the board. There was no response.

In the board camp they say that parents at Al Jawhara also support them, but are afraid to express this.

Equity evaporates

Farid and Kok-Sultan wonder where the money that has been used to pay the salaries for the past four months comes from. In January and February, Minister Paul withheld 60 percent of the budget, and from March even 80 percent. In total more than 1.5 million euros. “We are in the old business. The kitchen for the children in the classroom is on the verge of collapse. Renovations announced for 2022 were never realized due to a lack of funds. But we have been paid by the board in recent months.”

At the end of 2022, the equity amounted to 2 million euros. Mohamed Bouimj acknowledges that this has largely evaporated. “I think that within a few years the board will have a buffer again, the board is always frugal.”

Nawal from the GMR section that supports the board also has confidence in it. “The board is doing its best to appoint a new director in a timely manner, the Public Prosecution Service is taking steps, the ministry wants all kinds of things. But Allah decides. Everything happens by the will of Allah.”