![]() |
|
A library photo of a hijab-clad
teacher in a German
school.
|
By Ahmed Al-Matboli, IOL Staff
BERLIN, March 24, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) The
legislatures in two German states have turned down proposals by the
opposition Christian Democratic Party to ban Muslim school teachers from
wearing hijab.
The parliament of Nordrhein-Westfalen, western
Germany, rejected the partys request as having no legal merit.
The Christian Democratic party
claimed that hijab places woman at a lower status and was a political
symbol not entrenched in the Muslims holy book, the Noble Quran.
Thomas Kufen, the partys immigration affairs officer,
alleged that disputes could emerge in schools over the issue of hijab and
that a legislation was needed.
The party, yet, said nuns should be exempted for any
ban on religious dress codes.
The Socialist and the Green parties, the ruling
coalition, as well as the Free Democratic Party had opposed the
proposals.
They particularly took issue at the Christian
Democratic Partys attempt to exempt nuns wear from the ban as a
violation of the constitution which demands equal treatment for citizens
irrespective of their religious affiliations.
Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious
symbol displaying ones affiliations unlike the symbolic Christian
crucifixes or Jewish Kappas.
Hindering Integration
The parliament of the south-western state of
Reinland-Pfalz also turned down a proposal by Christian Democratic Party
leader Christoph Bohr to ban hijab.
The Socialist, Green and Free Democratic parties have
voted against the motion, accusing the party of religious
discrimination.
Doris Ahnen, the education minister of Reinland-Pfalz,
condemned the ban request, saying it would obstruct the integration of
Muslim women into society.
The education affairs official in the Green Party,
Nils Fichmann, also opened fire on the Christian Democratic Party, whose
leaders had described hijab-clad women as enemies of the
constitution.
The Green party is the only political party that
rejects the hijab ban in principle.
Sylvia Lohrmann, the leader of the partys
parliamentary bloc, stressed that the issue should not even be open to
discussion.
The Free Democrats, however, rejected the hijab ban
because it should have also include the head gear of nuns in order to
avoid any discrimination.
Germany's highest tribunal, the constitutional court,
ruled in 2003 that Baden-Wuerttemberg was wrong to forbid a Muslim teacher from
wearing hijab in the classroom.
But it said Germany's 16 regional states could issue
new legislations to ban it if they believe hijab would influence
children.
The states of Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thuringen still
allow teachers to wear hijab.
In addition to Baden-Wuerttemberg, the states of
Saarland and Niedersachsen ban teachers from showing any religious or
political affiliation, including hijab.
Another state, Hessen, made amendments to its school
laws, banning teachers from wearing any symbols of religious or political
nature while allowing them a limited right to put on Christian or western
symbols.
In Bavaria, laws were enforced in 2004 banning
teachers from wearing religious symbols that are not harmonious with
Christian cultural values.
The state of Brandenburg made the same amendments in
2003.
For Now
IOLs Correspondent cautions that the parliaments
rejection of the hijab ban proposal might only be temporary and the
controversy could surface again.
Nordrhein-Westfalens Education Minister Ute Schafer,
of the Socialist Party, told parliament members on March 17 that the
number of hijab-clad teachers was very few and the issue should not be
raised at present.
Dorothee Danner, a Socialist lawmaker, said her
colleagues remain divided on the broader issue of hijab in schools.
Some of the partys MPs support a ban on hijab, while
others believe the issue should not be addressed now.
Danner, however, expected the issue to be raised again
in the coming legislative session.
A recent report by the International Helsinki
Federation for Human Rights (IHF) unveiled that Muslim minorities across
Europe have been experiencing growing distrust, hostility and
discrimination since the 9/11 attacks.
Muslim organizations have reported that discrimination
against Muslim women wearing hijab peaked since September 11, the report
said.
