Second German State Bans Headscarf

HANOVER, 29 April 2004 — Lower Saxony became the second German state to ban Muslim public school teachers from wearing headscarves after regional deputies voted in a new law to that effect yesterday.

The state Parliament dominated by a coalition of the conservative Christian Democratic Union and the liberal Free Democrats pushed through the vote, with support from the Social Democrat opposition.

On April 1, the legislature in the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg voted almost unanimously for a similar law, which goes into effect this month.

Germany’s highest tribunal, the constitutional court, ruled in September that Baden-Wuerttemberg was wrong to forbid a Muslim female teacher from wearing a headscarf in the classroom.

But it said Germany’s 16 states could legislate independently to ban religious apparel if it was deemed to unduly influence children.

Six states have put forward draft laws banning headscarves or other religious symbols in public institutions.

Muslim groups have fiercely criticized the ban as compromising their freedom of religious expression. Germany is home to around three million Muslims, making Islam the country’s third religion, after Roman Catholicism and Protestant denominations.

Read Another Article

Canadians Muslims will get sharia courts to settle disputes
Hamtramck prayer OK prompts outrage

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