http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2738654,00.html
“German State Court Upholds Headscarf Ban for Teachers”
“Teacher Brigitte Weiss, who converted from Christianity to Islam, lost the case Tuesday”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “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.”
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2738535,00.html
East Germany | 14.08.2007
Expert: No Hard Proof for East German Shoot-to-Kill Order”
“A stretch of the former Berlin Wall on the Thuringia-Bavaria border
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “An expert on killings along the former German-German border told DW-WORLD.DE that a recently discovered shoot-to-kill order is irrelevant and will not spark new criminal probes that some politicians are calling for.
Berlin state prosecutors have said they’re considering opening a new criminal investigation into deaths at the Berlin Wall after a document resurfaced that contains orders to “stop or liquidate” anyone trying to escape to the West, including women and children.”