Syrian Education Minister Bans Full Face Veils in Universities

Syria’s education minister has issued a decree banning women on university campuses from wearing veils that cover their faces.

The decision appears to be drawing fire from some quarters and praise from others.

Syrian Minister of Higher Education Ghaith Barakat says the decision to ban women wearing the “niqab” from entering university campuses was taken “at the request of a number of parents.” Those parents, he said, do not want their children to be educated in an “environment of extremism.”

The minister’s decree follows a decision last month to dismiss 1200 Syrian school teachers who wear the face veil in class. Education officials, at the time, stressed that Syria was a “secular society,” and that extremism is “unacceptable.”

Al-Arabiya TV quoted an education ministry official, who argued the niqab was “against academic principles” as well as “campus regulations.” He also called the practice an “ideological invasion.” Syria’s ruling Ba’ath Party denounced niqab-wearing at a recent conference.
[...]

Analyst Peter Harling of the Crisis Group in Damascus says Syria is caught in a bind between its own secular tradition and the Islamic fundamentalism of some of its allies:

“I think there is a fundamental contradiction in Syria’s posture,” Harling said. “Syria on one side is a secular country, or at least the regime at the helm is deeply structurally secular, and very attached to that particular identity. I think it is the last secular bulwark in the region, so to speak, on the one side. On the other, Syria is very much part of regional trends, which it tends to foster, through its support for militant groups, which most often embrace an Islamist outlook.”

He also said there is a deeply felt feeling in Syria that it is time to act against the more extreme forms of Islam in the country, before it is too late.”
[...more...]

Bookmark, Share, or Email This Page

Comment

Read Another Article

Kentucky prison restricts pastoral visits to inmates
Jews pressured into adopting ‘French-sounding’ surnames fight to change them back

Related News Articles Topic(s): Islam Related Tags / Keywords: Islam • islamic • islamic extremism • Islamism • muslim • muslims • Syria You Might Like These Articles As Well Belgium court charges six people in deadly exorcism of Muslim woman Malaysian Newspaper Apologizes for Changing Anti-Scientology Speech Into Anti-Islam Speech Bible School, Church Buildings Attacked in Sudan Muslim Assailants in Egypt Escape Prosecution Pakistani Woman Accused of ‘Blasphemy’ Illegally Held in Jail Religion News Roundup, Monday, April 9, 2012 Court in Egypt Sentences Young Christian for ‘Insulting Islam’ Islamic extremists detained in France planned to kidnap Jewish judge Islamists in Egypt Use Rumors to Attack Christians Doctors Try to Save Remaining Eye of Ugandan Pastor After Acid Attack 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 Religion & Spirituality Books at Amazon.com Islam

Search Religion News Blog