Many thanks to Gary Fouse for translating this article from Le Figaro:
Seine-Saint-Denis: A first-grade teacher is imprisoned after translating songs for Daesh (ISIS) supporting jihad
by Steve Tenré
February 26, 2024A schoolteacher in Drancy, aged 26, is accused of having performed and recorded at least five religious songs before transmitting them to leaders of the Islamic State for distribution.
A jihadist teaching our children? A school teacher, aged 26, working in Drancy (Seine-Saint-Denis) has been charged and placed in provisional detention very recently, on February 16, on account of criminal terrorist association for purposes of committing “crimes of attacks against persons”, Le Figaro has learned from the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office on Monday evening, February 26, confirming information from Parisien.
The teacher is suspected of performing at least five “nasheeds”, Muslim religious songs that the Islamic State continuously uses in its propaganda videos. The authorities accuse him of having translated to French, sung, and “edited” these songs before transmitting them to the “leaders” of Daesh (ISIS). One of these songs was also distributed on the principal propaganda channel of the Islamic organization.
He claims to have been under “influence”
The young, French-Algerian also “manifestly” adhered to the jihadist ideology, according to elements recovered from his personal electronic devices. Sofiane O. is also suspected of privately distributing jihadist propaganda on social media. In the sights of the authorities for several years, the professor reportedly took a course in the Arabic language at the European Institute of Human Sciences of Saint-Denis. The establishment, also under investigation, is particularly known for having had a student, Ines Madani, sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment for attempting to blow up a car near the Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris during the night of 3-4 September 2016.
The young man — who reportedly has been a tenured teacher since 2021, teaching young children ages 6-7 at the Jean-Pierre Timbaud School of Drancy — reportedly told investigators he was under the “influence” of interlocutors, whom he knew only by religious names, and who asked him to perform “nasheeds”. He also said while in custody that he adheres to the values of the Republic and reportedly claimed to have observed the minute of silence to Samuel Paty with his pupils.
“Cozy existence”
Speaking to our colleagues at Parisien, one of his close acquaintances claims that “We have never reproached him for anything on a professional level.” Another says that he “led a cozy existence between his work at the school and… He is valued by his colleagues, his friends, and clearly by his family”. His lawyer, Attorney Florence Rouas, describes him as, “a teacher perfectly integrated into French life,” married and a father. “He barely goes to the mosque a few times a year,” she claimed. “In his daily life, he is friendly and even endearing.”
Still, the mayor of Drancy, Aude Lagarde, said in a press release that she “shared the emotion of the teachers and the parents of the pupils of the Timbaud School,” after the announcement of the charges against Sofiane O. “I would like to affirm my complete support to the personnel of this school, frightened by this news, and who must not be tarnished by the actions of one of their colleagues.” The investigation has been jointly assigned to the Anti-Terrorist Section of the Criminal Brigade and the General Directorate of Internal Security (DGSI), the National Anti-Terrorist Prosecutor’s Office stated.