German State Court Upholds Headscarf Ban for Teachers

A court in Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia has upheld a ban on female Muslim teachers wearing headscarves in schools.

Wearing a headscarf violated a state regulation against religious symbols in public schools, the administrative court in the western city of Düsseldorf ruled on Tuesday.

The case was brought by a 52-year-old secondary school teacher, who said she would appeal Tuesday’s ruling.

The teacher had argued that her headscarf was a “fashion accessory à la Grace Kelly” that was in line with Christian-Occidental values.

The judges did not accept the argument, pointing out that since the teacher always wore the scarf, it was a symbol of her religous beliefs.

Authorities in North Rhine-Westphalia imposed a ban on headscarves in June 2006.

A similar ban was introduced in the southern state of Bavaria in 2005 with the aim of protecting children from the influence of Islamic fundamentalists.

Rules vary

After the headscarf prohibition came into effect in June 2006 in North Rhine-Westphalia, one teacher appeared at school wearing a beret. A court said the beret fell under the headscarf rule and asked the teacher to consider wearing a wig instead, which she refused.

In Bavaria, on the other hand, teachers may wear hats in school.

At an administrative court in Stuttgart in the state of Baden-Württemburg, judges in July 2006 reversed an earlier decision. There, Muslim teachers may now wear headscarves since nuns are also permitted to wear their habits in public schools.

Read Another Article

Breaking shackles of religion
Satanist tells jury he is a normal guy

Related News Articles Topic(s): Islam Subscribe to Religion News Blog updates Subscribe to Religion News Blog [What is this?] Get Religion News Blog's headline by Email [What is this?] Follow Religion News Blog at Twitter Find Related Information Use our custom search engines to find additional research resources on religions and cults: ApologeticsSearch.com: Search for apologetics articles, books, videos, and other research resources across 135 Christian apologetics websites and blogs. CounterCultSearch.com: Search for information about (religious) cults, cult-like organizations, and cults experts -- as well as paranormal-, New Age, and pseudoscientific claims -- across 260+ websites, blogs and forums dedicated to cult research, spiritual abuse, ex-cult counseling & support. Find Related Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Islam Possibly related... or Most Popular Religion News Articles Kent Hovind: Evangelist arrested on federal charges Beast’s real mark devalued to ’616′ Muslim Woman Gives Sex Advice on Arab TV Michael Jackson Confirms Conversion to Islam Kent Hovind, ‘Dr. Dino,’ guilty on all counts The fall and rise of Carlton Pearson Search False prophet Harold Camping sets another date for rapture: May 21, 2011 Watch the film Theo van Gogh was murdered for Kent Hovind — Dr. Dino — sentenced to 10 years in prison

Search Religion News Blog