The Islamic School of Växjö celebrates its 20th anniversary

On Saturday, the Islamic School celebrated the twenty-year anniversary of its founding. The celebration was attended by a large number of students' families with their children, and there was a presence of some politicians from the Municipal Council in Växjö. The two-hour celebration included, among other things, the opening of the school garden, which was renovated and expanded. There were also some competitions and sports for children, in addition to serving coffee and grilled sausages.

- We are proud today that Växjö Islamic School is one of the best schools in Växjö, and the number of children is constantly increasing. Also, the teachers are university graduates and have the capacity to teach. In addition, there is a big cooperation between the parents and the school.The Islamic school is not a profitable company looking for financial gain. But the income of the school goes back to the children, and there is no profit for a specific person or for a specific party. So we were able to invest in the school garden in this way.The project cost between 4 to5 million kronor. We have transformed the garden from an old garden into a new garden on a modern level. The garden is not large but we have made a positive use of every centimeter so that we were able to create a large number of playgrounds out of a simple space in a modern way for the children to benefit from. We are glad that we were able to create a good environment for children. It is important for us that the children are happy and in good health and psychological condition, and thus progress in their studies and be active in society. Ismail Abu Helal, the school’s business manager, said on this occasion.

Over the course of twenty years, how did the Islamic school contribute to graduating a generation capable of contributing effectively to society?

It is true that the school’s profile defines it as Islamic, but in fact there are only one or two lessons per week in which the students learn how to behave in the Islamic religion, with the aim of promoting respect for others among the students and respecting the laws of the country in which they are. The Islamic school also contributes to promoting integration, although there are those who say the opposite. The school contributes to the effective integration of children into society because they receive a good education in the school.

Ismail Abu Helal indicates that they plan to open a branch of the school in Alvesta, due to the continuous increase in the number of students.

- We do not want to reject any child who wants to study here, as we have 250 children today and cannot receive more. Therefore, we have a plan to build a branch of the school in Alvesta because we have about 100 children who come from Alvesta by school bus. He says.

Are there concerns and fears that the new government will take decisions to close religious schools?

I personally am not worried about anything. Because we carry out a mission in the community, and I see that the community is a beneficiary of it. Unfortunately, some politicians do not see this. If they look closely, they will find that the school provides great services to the community and they will work to support and endorse it, not to abolish it. I think religious schools in general offer something that is missing in society at the moment, which is to teach students values and principles and revive their conscience, and this is something that must be preserved.