Will investigate the Koran school case

Davos, Switzerland.Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Somalia's Norwegian-speaking Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire. : Heiko Junge / NTB scanpix

Somali Prime Minister: Will investigate the Koran school case

Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire tells NRK that he will investigate the conditions in Koran schools in Somalia.

 

On Wednesday, he met with Prime Minister Erna Solberg during the economic summit in Davos. NRK’s revelations about the Koran schools in Somalia were one of the issues on the agenda, reports NRK.

– We do not have any details regarding this yet, but we will of course investigate it. Conditions that is not acceptable for children will not be tolerated in our country. We will make sure to follow up on this, says Hassan Ali Khaire, who has a Norwegian passport after coming to to Norway as a refugee in 1989.

NRK before Christmas revealed violence and maltreatment in several Koran schools in Somalia.

Strict discipline, often including use of physical punishment, and in depth study of Islam, is supposed to bring Norwegian Somali youth closer to their original Somali culture.

According to NRK, Erna Solberg had planned to discuss the conditions for Norwegian Somali children in Koran schools with the Somali Prime Minister beforehand . On questions from NRK if he will close the schools, Prime Minister Khaire answers:

– We must first collect all the facts. Once we have, we will take appropriate measures.

Norway gave NOK 500 million in aid to Somalia last year, mostly through international NGOs.

© NTB Scanpix / Norway Today