Christian Klar, the 63-year-old headmaster of the Franz Jonas European School in Vienna-Floridsdorf, has released a provocative new book titled: “How Do We Save Our Children’s Future?” Following his previous work on the state of the education system, Klar uses his latest publication to highlight what he describes as a growing “clash of cultures and religions” within the classroom, with Islam playing a major role.
One of the most notable cases he cited in his book is the example of a gay teacher who was asked to leave the school because of his sexuality, which illustrates friction between conservative religious values and Western liberal standards. Klar describes the man as a successful young teacher at a public elementary school, and despite being beloved by his students as a “class dad,” the atmosphere shifted instantly when his sexual orientation became public knowledge.
According to Klar, a Muslim father approached the administration to protest the teacher’s presence. The father claimed the teacher’s orientation was “incompatible with Islamic principles” and demanded his immediate dismissal. After requests for a dismissal and a transfer were denied, the school ultimately allowed the man’s son to switch classes to avoid the teacher, in the report covered by Austrian outlet Heute.
Klar questions the precedent this sets.
“A de-escalating and therefore perhaps wise decision, but where do such incidents lead? When is it time to say ‘Stop!’? I think we should have done that a long time ago!” says Klar.
Klar stated that the solution found to the so-called “problem” is a mere band-aid for a much larger problem, saying that secularism is losing ground to Islam. He observes that Islamic social codes are becoming the primary lens through which students view their daily lives.
“The topic of religion permeates the entire school day: Islam is omnipresent, everything is ‘haram’ or ‘halal’… Islamic rules are discussed by the children,” Klar explains.
He points to a visible shift in student attire, noting that “more and more girls wear headscarves or now niqabs and abayas,” and calls for a stricter enforcement of headscarf bans to maintain a neutral learning environment.
The principal concludes with a firm demand for policy reform, insisting that schools must remain a “religiously neutral space.” He emphasizes that while personal faith is private, the school system must be anchored in the “fundamental values of our liberal, democratic and social society.”
However, sheer numbers may make this difficult. In Vienna, Muslims are now a greater share of students than Christians in elementary schools, jumping to 41.2 percent of the student body. In addition, over half of first-graders do not understand German in the Viennese school system for the first time ever.
🇦🇹 Great Replacement in Austria's school system
More than 3 quarters of students in Vienna’s middle schools do not speak German at home, according to new statistics.
According to Statistics Austria's STATcube, only 8,479 of Vienna’s 26,816 middle school students use German as… pic.twitter.com/4Vf20aaLLt
— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) October 29, 2024Klar is not the only one raising the alarm bell. Just last month, teachers’ union representative Thomas Krebs of the Christian Trade Unionists Group (FCG) said Viennese teachers are reporting growing challenges with students from immigrant backgrounds who are increasingly unwilling to learn German or adapt to local values.
Speaking to Heute, Krebs said many of those arriving from conflict or crisis regions now bring radical beliefs that pose problems in Austrian classrooms.
“In the past, people fled from extremism. Now, many people come to us radicalized by extremism and spread these ideas here as well,” said Krebs. He cited incidents of female teachers being disrespected or assaulted by male students and parents, saying such behavior reflects imported attitudes that reject gender equality. “This disrespect ranges from refusing to shake hands to insults and physical assaults,” he added.
Krebs said the problem also affects staff relations, with reports of some male teachers refusing to shake hands with female colleagues for similar reasons. He warned that children from Western or secular families are sometimes treated as inferior by classmates, while those from conservative backgrounds who wish to integrate face pressure to conform.
“Students from Western cultural backgrounds are not seen as equals,” Krebs said, adding that liberal democratic values are often dismissed in favor of religious rules.
