Germany’s Constitutional Court has lifted a ban on female Muslim teachers wearing headscarves as long as it does not lead to ‘disruption’ at school.
This followed the case of a Muslim woman who was denied a teaching job because she wore a headscarf (Hijab).
The Court said that the only grounds for religious symbols to be banned are when they pose ‘not just an abstract but a concrete risk of disruption in schools.’
The Court banned headscarves for teachers in 2003, though Christian religious symbol such as the Cross, was exempted.
“This is a good day for religious freedom,” said Volker Beck, a lawmaker from the opposition Greens party.
He said that a bigger threat to German society could be ‘opponents of diversity,’ such as neo-Nazis and extremist Muslim Salafists.
The ruling was also praised for ‘reinforcing religious freedom in Germany’ by Christine Lueders, Director of the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency.
Another Verdict
In 2013, another ruling lessened the pressure on Muslim school girls, allowing them to wear so-called ‘burqinis’ (full-cover swimming costumes) in physical education classes.
This arose because of the case of a 13-year-old girl of Moroccan origin who started skipping her swimming lessons after entering one of the country’s top high schools.
This year, the German Muslim Council warned of an increasing number of anti-Muslim attacks in the country. Women with a headscarf, Imams and Mosques are suffering ‘on a daily basis.’
Chancellor supports
Germany has four million Muslim residents.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, who joined a Muslim tolerance rally in Berlin in January, accused Germany’s growing anti-Islamic movement of spreading hatred and violence against immigrants, pointing out “Islam belongs to Germany.”
Source: ‘Rocket Science,’ Monthly Newsletter of Mt Albert Islamic Centre, Auckland
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Photo
Muslim teachers at a school in Germany
