Starting September 10, Facebook accounts known for frequently spreading disinformation, Mamuka Karchkhadze and Elena West, as well as Russian-language accounts (1;2;3;4), circulated claims that music lessons had been banned at public schools in Hamburg, Germany. According to these posts, music is considered haram (a sin) in Islam, and making it compulsory to study is viewed as Islamophobic. The posts are accompanied by a German-language news report titled “Muslims Threaten Classmates.”
The claim that music lessons have been banned in Hamburg schools on the basis of Islamic norms is false. In reality, the published news segment referred to a conflict in Hamburg schools that arose from religious motives; however, it made no mention of a ban on music lessons in public schools. This claim is also not corroborated by any other open or public sources.
The disinformation alleging a ban on music lessons went viral on the social network X on September 29, 2025, and was later shared by Georgian- and Russian-language Facebook accounts. According to the author of the post, music lessons in Hamburg’s public schools had been banned because music is considered haram, and compulsory teaching of it is viewed as Islamophobic.
Screenshot from the disinformation spread on X
In reality, the video in question was produced by the media outlet WELT and was released in June. The report concerned religiously motivated tensions in Hamburg schools. According to the broadcast, Muslim pupils forbade their classmates to attend music lessons because they regarded them as haram, while telling female classmates that school was not a place for them. At the same time, the local newspaper Hamburger Abendblatt reported on threats and insults directed at classmates by Muslim students, noting that there was a certain amount of “religious pressure” concerning dress and behavior. The incident also drew a response from Hamburg’s Catholic schools, which issued a statement saying that Hamburg is a culturally and religiously diverse city, and such conflicts should be resolved constructively and peacefully.
Joint statement by Hamburg Catholic schools
Thus, music lessons have not been banned in Hamburg. The circulated segment makes no reference to such a restriction. Hamburg’s education administration has denied the claim, telling EuroVerify that “music is taught at all schools in Hamburg. This has always been the case, and there are no plans to change it.” Likewise, music is still listed as a subject of study on the official website of Hamburg’s Education Council.
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