THE HAGUE, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Online threats have been made to a teacher at the Emmaus College school in Rotterdam for a cartoon shown in his classroom, the Rotterdam police stated on Thursday.
Newspaper NRC on Thursday reported that the teacher concerned has gone into hiding because of the threats. Earlier this week, a discussion arose between the teacher and some Muslim school girls who thought he should remove a cartoon from a bulletin board.
The cartoon by Dutch cartoonist Joep Bertrams shows a decapitated man in a Charlie Hebdo shirt sticking out his tongue at the jihadist who just beheaded him. According to the NRC, the girls felt that the teacher was guilty of blasphemy by showing the cartoon. A photo of the cartoon later appeared on social media and the teacher was threatened online.
"It is currently being investigated who is behind the threats," the Rotterdam police stated, adding "We are in close contact with the school and take visible and invisible measures to ensure that the threats stop. Furthermore, we cannot say anything about the nature and scope of the measures in this phase."
The Emmaus College school, like many other Dutch schools, commemorated the murdered French teacher Samuel Paty on Monday. Paty was beheaded last month by an extremist for showing cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad in a lesson on freedom of speech. Enditem
