Latvia can set an example for Russia when it comes to training national minorities

Russian Mufti: Islamic radicalism and teaching Muslim children in Russian. “If you teach Muslim children entirely in Russian, then they will probably move away from the Islamic traditions of their people and, most likely, will come to the traditions of radicals,” Mukhetdinov wrote on his Internet page, Interfax reports.

The Mufti stated an objective fact in his speech. Russia, being a multinational and multi-religious state, is in fact building an integration policy on the basis of one Russian language and one national culture - Russian. It should be understood that the reality is different and it is necessary to provide the opportunity in national regions to implement various ethno-oriented models of education at school. Even in Latvia, which is considered a nation state, schools for national minorities are organized.

In the 2007/2008 academic year, the language of instruction in 722 Latvian schools was Latvian, in 141 schools it was Russian (they have a bilingual education program, where in primary grades all subjects are taught in Russian, and then the share of the state language increases. In graduating classes 40 % of the subject is taught in Russian and 60% in the state language), in 88 schools teaching is conducted in both Latvian and Russian (bilingual curricula; these are schools that have both Latvian classes and classes for national minorities). Classes in 5 schools are conducted in Polish, in 1 - in Ukrainian and in 1 school - in Belarusian, in one Estonian school and in one Lithuanian school, certain academic subjects are taught in the language of a national minority, and in two schools it is taught as an elective subject gypsy language.

National minorities should have the opportunity to be educated in their own culture and language. This will reduce tension and radical sentiments. And the inclusion of traditional Islam in the curriculum for Tatar, Bashkir and Caucasian schools will reduce the influence of extremist Islamic sects.