Mount Ridley College muslim student ‘traumatised’ after seeing cartoon of Prophet Muhammad

A Muslim high school girl has suffered ‘psychological and mental trauma’ after being in a class where a cartoon of the prophet Mohammed was shown.

A teacher at Mount Ridley College in Craigieburn – 16 miles north of Melbourne’s CBD – showed the cartoon in a Year 11 media class on 14 October.

The female student’s father immediately complained to the school and has since demanded an apology.

“She was forced to watch explicit and blasphemous cartoon material being developed somewhere in Europe against our Holy Prophet Muhammad,” her father said.

The depiction of the prophet Muhammad is prohibited in most, but not all, interpretations of Islam.

The cartoon, which was not on the formal curriculum of Victorian government schools, was a front page of the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo.

That image, and others in the publication, sparked a mass shooting at the magazine’s Paris office on January 7, 2015, which killed 12 people and injured 11 others.

According to the Islamic Council of Victoria (ICV), the teacher warned at the beginning of the lesson that potentially “confrontational” content would be shown and advised that students were free to leave if they wished.

‘Although the Muslim student in question objected to the material offered, the teacher continued’, the ICV said in a statement.

The girl’s father wrote on social media that “unfortunately the teacher didn’t care and kept playing the video, forcing my child to watch that content.”

“This has painfully exacerbated the feelings of my child and my family and put us in a painful psychological and mental trauma,” he added.

The student’s parents have raised concerns with the school, the ICV, Victoria’s Department of Education and Training (DET) and the state government.

A DET spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that the department was assessing the incident.

“Once the assessment is complete and the department has consulted with community groups, it will be decided whether additional advice should be given to schools on similar sensitive issues,” the spokesperson said.

“All affected students will receive full support.”

The father met with the principal of the school and others to discuss the complaint.

“A representative from the ICV’s Islamophobia Support Service attended this meeting, as well as a representative from DET, a lawyer who supported the father, and other family supporters,” the ICV said.

The school has contacted the family and is offering support to their daughter.

The family wants the teacher suspended, a public apology from the school and a chance to talk to the school community about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.

The teen’s father said the family is “demanding an explanation as to why events like this happened.”

“We also want confirmation that these kinds of events should not take place in institutions that hurt our feelings.”

The ICV said it “understands that many in the community are extremely angry at what they have heard and want to express their anger and disapproval.”

“The ICV is working closely with the affected family and other affiliates and requests the community to give the ICV and others dealing with this matter time to complete the investigation and take appropriate action.”