Islamophobic teacher

IS A PUBLIC-SCHOOL TEACHER ALLOWED TO MAKE ISLAMOPHOBIC REMARKS?

Summarized: A public-school teacher is not allowed to express their political opinions and must remain neutral. The teacher must respect the viewpoint of the students and their parents and must keep a low profile on religious issues.

The state must be neutral towards all citizens regardless of their religious confession and may not evaluate or determine the content of a religion's faith.¹ As civil servants, teachers are subject  to a duty of neutrality resulting from Article 33 (5) of the German Basic Law, which prevents them from making their own religious and ideological convictions the yardstick for their official actions.² Within this duty to be objective and neutral, they must respect the views of students and their parents³ and abstain entirely from religious questions.⁴ 

During the performance of their duties, the civil servant shall also refrain from expressing political opinions.⁵ Islamophobic remarks by a teacher are therefore illegal.  

Such remarks may in particular affect the child's parents in their parental right of upbringing under Article 6 (2) of the Basic Law. The ideological-religious element in parental upbringing plays an important role, at least until the child reaches the age of religious maturity.⁶ It also enjoys the protection of the unconditionally granted fundamental right to freedom of religion under Article 4 of the Basic Law. Parents thus have the right to communicate to their children the religious or ideological convictions they consider correct and to ward off state measures which have a detrimental effect on their personal sphere. This individual right is available to every single guardian and gains special significance for the protection of minorities.⁷

^{2 Germann in: Grundgesetz (BeckOK), 38. Ed. 15.8.2018, Art. 4 margin 56.3.} 

^{3 Federal Constitutional Court, case from 24.09.2003, 2 BVR 1436/02, margin 21.}

^{4 Badura in: Maunz/Dürig, 82nd update Jan 2018, Grundgesetz, Art. 33 margin 43.}

^{5 Grigoleit in Bundesbeamtengesetz (Battis), Ed. 2017, Section 60 margin 18.}

^{6 Federal Constitutional Court, case from 17.12.1975, 1 BvR 63/68, margin 98.}

^{7  See above.}