For two weeks in a 7th grade at a Danish public school, the Danish lessons focused on the subject terrorism. In one lesson an incident, known as the Copenhagen shootings that took place a few months before, was debated. In the Copenhagen shootings, a 22-year-old perpetrator, Omar, interrupted a public meeting on ‘Art, blasphemy and freedom of speech’, firing his gun several times and killing one of the participants at the meeting. Later that night, he killed a guard outside a synagogue. Omar himself was shot dead by the police under his capture the following morning.
The teacher told the class about her participation in the commemorate ceremony for the two victims of Omar´s shooting, a ceremony that gathered 30.000 citizens.
A girl, Basra, declares, ‘I feel sorry for Omar’. Nadia, who sits in front of her, tells her to stop feeling sorry for Omar, while Basra still repeats the comment several times. The teacher then asks Basra whether she wants to go to the library. At first, Basra says no, but when asked again she leaves the class. The debate continues about how to commemorate the two victims of the shooting.
Questions:
- Would it be possible to see Omar as a victim as well? He too was shot and killed?
- Should there be a limit to what expressions are allowed in the classroom? And if so, how?
- If not, how could the school, the teacher and the students assure that everyone can raise their opinions?
