(Den Haag) The Maria Montessori school at The Hague has been ordered to pay compensation to two Muslim children who missed the school photo due to been away for Eid.
The school hired the photographer without realising his visit clashed with the post Ramadan festival of Eid. When the school was informed of this, it was unable to rearrange the booking. The parents, unhappy how the school didn’t take their faith in account, took the school to court in which to point out the discrimination Muslims face in Holland and demanded 10,000 euros ($11k) in compensation. Yesterday (Monday), the district court at The Hague ruled in their favour that the school had indirectly discriminated against the two children, which breached their right to equal treatment. The court decided there was no direct discrimination on grounds of religion because the school later arranged for the photographer to return and take the children’s pictures separately. However, the school had failed to offer alternatives when it became aware of the error.
As the court found in the parents' favour, the school was forced to pay 500 Euros to each child for hurt feelings and not the 10,000 as demanded by the parents.
The school hired the photographer without realising his visit clashed with the post Ramadan festival of Eid. When the school was informed of this, it was unable to rearrange the booking. The parents, unhappy how the school didn’t take their faith in account, took the school to court in which to point out the discrimination Muslims face in Holland and demanded 10,000 euros ($11k) in compensation. Yesterday (Monday), the district court at The Hague ruled in their favour that the school had indirectly discriminated against the two children, which breached their right to equal treatment. The court decided there was no direct discrimination on grounds of religion because the school later arranged for the photographer to return and take the children’s pictures separately. However, the school had failed to offer alternatives when it became aware of the error.
As the court found in the parents' favour, the school was forced to pay 500 Euros to each child for hurt feelings and not the 10,000 as demanded by the parents.
