Muslim pupil offended by the word 'jamón' in class in Cádiz

Muslim pupil offended by the word 'jamón' in class in Cádiz
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By m.p. - Dec 20, 2010 - 3:40 PM
The boy's family have reported the geography teacher to the police and the courts

A Trevélez jamón. Photo - Wikipedia

The parents of a Muslim boy who attends a secondary school in La Línea, Cádiz province, have reported their son’s teacher for an incident in the boy’s geography class which the child said caused him offence as a Muslim.

The teacher, José Reyes Fernández, with more than 20 years in the profession, was explaining to the class how the cold climate in Trevélez, Granada province, aided in the curing of the village’s most famous local product, jamón serrano. The boy told his teacher that hearing the word ‘ham’ in class was offensive to him because of his religion and asked his geography teacher to stop referring to the product which caused him offence.

El Mundo newspaper reports that the boy’s parents

The teacher, José Reyes Fernández - Photo EFE

then reported the teacher to both the National Police and to the courts. They placed a denuncia against the teacher for psychological ill-treatment in the context of xenophobia and racism.

It’s understood that an internal investigation is also underway by the education authority in Cádiz province, although the regional government, The Junta de Andalucía, has said that it supports the teacher as the complaint is ‘out of place’.

The government’s Minister for Presidency, Ramón Jáuregi, was questioned on the incident in an interview on Onda Cero radio this Monday morning. He described the denuncia as ‘unfounded’ and said there was no hope of it going any further.

This story has been updated here

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