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«Wij pesten niet» or «We don’t bully» is a song that Ibrahim Elkaddouri and his students wrote and released, Sunday, to counter bullying in Dutch schools. The song is one of the projects Moroccan-Dutch Anasheed singer and primary school teacher works on with his students, who come from different backgrounds.
«I teach primary school students Anasheed and together we write and sing songs with topics that speak to them», Elkaddouri proudly told Yabiladi on Monday.
Indeed, his recent song, which addresses bullying in schools, is based on a topic that his students can relate to and which he witnessed during his seven-year career in teaching. «Students had fun singing about bullying and the message of equality and tolerance», he explained.
In addition to their unique style, Elkaddouri’s songs address topics and issues from an Islamic perspective, with references to the humane values of religion. «The song refers to the message of Islam and Prophet Mohammed and the fact that we are all the same», the teacher recalled.
Anasheed songs for tolerance and diversity
Although most of his students are from Moroccan and Turkish backgrounds, the songs they produce are for everyone. «The song is for everyone. I work in seven schools and I see that there is a lot of bullying», he regretted. «All children must be careful with their words because they can hurt each other and that can happen between Moroccan, Turkish, Somali and Dutch children», he added.
«Wij pesten niet» is just one of the songs that the Utrecht-born teacher produced with his students. «We have another song called 'You are never Alone' and it talks about tolerance and solidarity», he recalled.
Elkaddouri’s Anasheed songs classes in the Netherlands have other goals. One of them is to address important topics and values while singing and having fun. «I try to help them choose topics that have messages and that are entertaining at the same time», he explained.
Elkaddouri’s music classes are also about tolerance and diversity. While teaching Anasheeds, he deals with students from different backgrounds and uses different languages, including Dutch, English and Arabic.
In addition to teaching, Elkaddouri is an Anasheed singer who is currently working on his album. In 2018, he participated to an Anasheed competition in Rabat to «prove that although [he] was born in the Netherlands, [he] also knows about Anasheeds».
His love for Arabic music and Anasheeds in particular is a childhood dream that came true. «When I was a kid I loved old-school music and my father encouraged me to sing Anasheed songs», he said. Elkaddouri went to a music and theater school to better his musical skills and there he also focused on the genre he always loved.
«At school I was the only Moroccan student in class. It was very awkward sometimes when they were talking about Rock and Roll, I was only listening to Anasheed songs», he jokingly told Yabiladi.
Elkaddouri’s new album will include Anasheed songs in Arabic, English and Dutch.
