27 October 2016

German parents may face trial after refusing mosque field trip

A German teen's parents have failed to pay a fine for truancy after the pair refused to allow their son to enter a mosque on a school field trip. The parents justified the move by citing "ideological reasons."

The prosecutor's office in Germany's Itzehoe is reviewing whether or not the parents of a seventh grader may have to appear in court because they failed to pay a truancy fine over a skipped field trip to a mosque.

The 13-year-old student's parents refused to allow their son to join his classmates on the June 14 school trip of this year to a mosque in the northern German town on Rendsburg, prosecutor Peter Müller-Rakow said on Wednesday. The field trip was reportedly part of a geography lesson.

A local education authority subsequently fined the parents a total of 300 euros ($328) for their son's truancy - which is a common practice in parts of Germany.

After the couple appealed the decision, the case was referred to Müller-Rakow who will now decide whether or not the parents stand trial over the case. [Deutsche Welle] Read more