Disgraced school administrator Soner Atasoy successfully fights his way back into Islamic education

Soner Atasoy is back, and making a significant impact. The founder and former administrator of the Cornelius Haga Lyceum has launched two new Islamic secondary schools in Almere and Breda within a single week. Combined with his Tilburg school, which has been operating for a year, Atasoy now oversees a quarter of all Islamic secondary education in the Netherlands. He also aims to open another school in Gouda.

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He caught a cold at the court on Thursday afternoon in his attempt to enforce a building allocated by the municipality. Against NRC, he says he will still start on Monday, but in classrooms rented from a mosque.

Atasoy's rapid expansion is notable given the government's efforts in 2019 to remove him from the Haga Lyceum. These efforts followed AIVD warnings about alleged terrorist ties and Salafist education, though these claims were later significantly nuanced. The government even attempted to cut funding to force his resignation, but a court intervened. Subsequent accusations of financial mismanagement and inadequate civic education, based on inspection reports, were found to be unfounded. Ultimately, an internal power struggle led to Atasoy's dismissal in 2020.

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Atasoy's rapid rise is striking, because in 2019 the national government and the Amsterdam city council did everything they could to get him away from the Haga Lyceum after - later heavily nuanced - AIVD warnings about terrorist ties and Salafist education.

Since his departure, Atasoy has pursued a return to education through numerous legal battles and the establishment of new schools under the "Meer ruimte voor nieuwe scholen" (More room for new schools) act. This law, enacted in 2021, appears to be facilitating his comeback. Despite past controversies and ongoing skepticism from local authorities, Atasoy's new schools, named Novum Saeculum Lyceum, are proceeding.

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The government even turned off the money tap to force the administrator to resign, until the court called her back: new allegations of financial mismanagement and deficient civic education, based on inspection research, turned out to be unfounded.

Local politicians and officials express discomfort with Atasoy's new schools, viewing him as an inflexible negotiator. Gouda criticized the "us vs. them" mentality on the schools' website and sought a delay in providing a building, a move Atasoy unsuccessfully challenged. Tilburg objected due to Atasoy's reputation, and Breda finalized negotiations for building handover just before a legal deadline and the start of the school year. In Almere, tensions escalated to the point where police had to secure a public school building when Atasoy and his supporters attempted to gain access.

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Ultimately, an internal power struggle cost Atasoy his position in 2020.