Posted on 11/12/2004 8:22:29 AM PST by knighthawk
The southern German state of Bavaria has become the latest of the country's federal states to ban Muslim school teachers from wearing headscarves. The Bavarian parliament approved the measure after Culture Minister Monika Hohlmeier argued that the headscarf was a symbol of the repression of women.
Three other German states - Lower Saxony, Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saarland - have already imposed similar bans.
Displaying Christian and Jewish symbols will still be allowed in Bavaria.
More than three million Muslims live in Germany and many have complained that the laws restrict their freedom to express their religion.
In the state of Hesse, the headscarf ban applies to all civil servants.
But Ms Hohlmeier said the headscarf had become a political symbol which was widely abused by Islamic fundamentalist groups and was not consistent with democracy, equality and tolerance.
"It's true that the veil of Islamic fundamentalist groups as a political symbol has been massively abused," she told German television.
The Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Greens, who rule in a coalition on a national level, voted against the ban in the Bavarian parliament, adding that it was questionable from a legal point of view.
Religious freedom
The issue has been fiercely debated in Germany since Fereshta Ludin, who was denied a job in Baden-Wuerttemberg in 1998 because she wore a headscarf in school, went to court.
She argued that the German constitution guaranteed her religious freedom.
Last September, the federal Constitutional Court ruled by five votes to three that, under current laws, she could wear the scarf.
But it also said new laws could be passed by individual states banning them if they were deemed to unduly influence pupils.
In France, there is similar controversy about a ban on the wearing of religious symbols by pupils in state schools.
Monika Hohlmeier, Bavarian Culture Minister
Here come more throat slashings and school burnings.
Have to say I am torn on this one. Would hate for the same standard be applied to other religious symbolism.
This is all Bush's fault
The Lander can actually pass sensible local laws without having to ask leftist Berlin first.
Banning headscarves to fight repression of women is like banning bikinis to fight sunburn.....
Exactly. Could a Catholics nuns habit become an issue? The banning of Muzzy's headscarves is political symbolism. It's time for the Europeans to face the fact that they have let an enemy in their midst and they need the courage to expel them.
It's almost void of any spiritual content.
All it says is: (1) There is a God and he sent a guy named Muhammad to tell us this in a book, (2) Remind yourself of this 5 times a day, (3) go to Mohammed's hometown once in your life to acknowledge this, (4) give money to people who agree with you if they're broke, (5) kill anyone who disagrees with you.
That ain't exactly Maimonides or Aquinas.
You are right. The problem is not scarves, the problem is that they let too many muslims into their country, and that they no longer support Christianity, so that a teacher couldn't wear a cross without getting in trouble. If they were a Christian country with an occasional Muslim immigrant peacefully following their religious priniciples, this would not be a problem.
Christian symbols represent a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and are just as Cherished and Sacred worn beneath a shirt as above the shirt. The Cross in my pocket reminds me of my Savior whom I have asked into my heart. Christians show their faith through hearts and hands.
The ban should be on muslims, not headgear.
ROFL! That's an understatement if ever I heard one.
No, more like banning brandmarks to fight slavery. The scarf is an outward symbol that a woman is below the man in position and rights.
Anymore, you'll get kicked out of school for wearing a cross on a necklace because you're "forcing your religion on everybody" but it's protected free expression to wear a T-shirt saying "shoot the Republicans". It's completely nuts.
Don't quote Maimonides ... :-) He much preferred Islam, a strictly monotheistic religion, to Christianity which was tainted by the smell of politheism... :-)
And in his age, Islamic civilization was far more advanced than Christian civilization...
It has changed since...
Interesting irony: the word "veil" spelled a little differently spells "evil."
I don't know how to say balls in German, but this lady has a set.
The problem is that the Headscarf is also a common method of keeping the hair dry and well kempt.....
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