Posted on 11/16/2005 4:58:35 PM PST by Pikamax
Muslim wins right to reject the hijab By Anthony Browne, Brussels Correspondent
ISLAMIC groups across Europe have campaigned for years for the right of Muslim women to wear the religious headscarf, or hijab. Now a Muslim woman in the Netherlands has won the right not to wear it. Samira Haddad, 32, won her case against the Islamic College of Amsterdam, which insists that all Muslim women wear the hijab. The secondary school rejected her for a job after she said in an interview that she did not wear it.
The country’s Equality Commission ruled in Ms Haddad’s favour, saying that the college had illegally discriminated against her on the ground of her religion and that it could not legally compel Muslim women to wear headscarves.
The case highlights the increasingly tense and complex debate surrounding Islamic religious clothing. France and regions of Germany have banned hijabs in schools and other public buildings, while the Dutch Government has followed various Belgian towns by proposing to ban the all-covering burka in certain public places. It says that it could be used by terrorists to conceal their identity.
Muslim groups say that women should be able to wear what they choose, although they have been reluctant to pursue the stance taken by many orthodox Muslims, that Muslim women should be compelled to cover their heads.
Ms Haddad, an Arabic teacher born in the Netherlands, was interviewed at the Islamic college in April. “The first official question was whether I was a Muslim,” she said. “When I answered in the affirmative there was a surprised reaction as to why I did not wear a headscarf.”
She said that her family was from Tunisia, which bans women from wearing headscarves in public. “They pointed out that Muslim women are obliged to wear headscarves at school,” she said. The interview was terminated immediately.
A member of the school board explained at the time: “If Miss Haddad were to declare she was no longer a Muslim, then she could in principle come and work for us.”
Ms Haddad complained to a local anti-discrimination body, but the school cited the Koran in its defence. She then took the case to the Equality Commission, which decided that the Koran was not legally binding in the Netherlands.
I wonder what her life expectancy is?
Honor action alert?
To keep this in perspective, Christianity went through similar phases regarding social acceptance and dress code for women.
Fundamentalism isn't unique to Islam, but in the modern era fundamentalism is at best rare in Christian circles, and even where it exists murder and suicide are not condoned, and is actually strongly discouraged with extreme prejudice in most cases.
Hope it was worth dying for.
Yes, fatwa. She daid!
"Of course then we'd be obligated to kill her in accordance with the Koran", the school board member thought to himself.
Humorous to see the western laws islamics take advantage of used against them.
Wow, that's gonna upset the religion of pieces folks - Maybe they'll have a warm winter in the Netherlands this year and a shortage of cars.......
I've said for a while the best bet to quickly domesticate the kooky Muslim male is for the women of that culture to stand up and kick them in the arse.
Glad to see it coming along. I figure when the women in that part of the world realize how fun and easy it is to cheat on their fat, grumpy arranged husband with a hunky UPS guy on occasion, many of that part of the world's problems will dissipate! :-)
There is at least one Muslim website that disputes the fact that this head-covering requirement is even in the Koran, and that all that is required is "modesty", which of course is a term relative to the standars (or lack there of) of the times. The site was one of those Withdrawing from Islam sort of sites.
My thought exactly. How long before she gets her throat cut?
"Equality Commission" sounds ominous, but they made the right decision. Let's hope that other countries also declare the Koran not legally binding.
Can you even imagine all these people getting into violent arguments about something as inconsequential as a headscarf? As long as their minds are filled with such trivia, they'll never have the mental space to invent anything, create anything, or advance their societies.
I love the smell of democracy in the morning... smells like victory.
It's in the negative numbers.
Murder is not condoned??? How about Pat Robertson all but demanding the head of Chavez on a platter? There is a breed of what can only be called "American Christian Fundamentalism" that believes in the superiority and divine call of America in the world above and beyond Christ's call to love thy neighbors. And Pat Robertson is their mullah issuing fatwahs on his daily 700 Club show.
"I wonder what her life expectancy is?"
My thought exactly. She's going to win her case and lose her head.
and meanwhile, back in france... they are rioting because girls CAN'T wear one!!! go figure.
I agree on the powerful role of women to change society: for the good and for the bad. Look at Northern Ireland: I once saw an interview with a Protestant woman from there, and she completely lacked empathy and compassion: basically brutally calling for the head of the nearest Catholic. When a woman stands up for her rights, when a woman refuses to give up her bus seat (Rosa Parks), that affects social change in a positive way. But when a woman expects her man to exact revenge, that society will be violent. The Northern Ireland situation will never change until women on both sides of the religious aisle demand better from their husbands just as this Muslim woman is demanding better from her religious community.
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