Tatarstan Muslim women Sue for Right to Wear Hijab in Passport Photos
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Tatarstan
President
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Additional
reporting by Dhamir Ahmed, IOL Correspondent
MOSCOW,
July 20 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A Russian court opened
hearings Friday into a suit filed by three Muslim women in the central
region of Tatarstan, with Muslim majority, who accuse the local
government of treading on their constitutional rights by barring them
from wearing Hijab (headscarves) in their passport photographs.
The
Interfax news agency reported that the unprecedented case opened in
Tatarstan's capital Kazan with opening statements from the plaintiffs
who cited the Glorious Koran in their defense, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
The
defendants, represented by local Interior Ministry officials, argued
that headscarves make it impossible to properly identify a woman in
her documents.
The
next hearing is set for August 2, Interfax reported from Kazan.
"We
understand perfectly well that we cannot tread on religious freedoms.
But orders are orders," Galina Fakhrudtinova, in charge of the
local passport agency, was quoted as saying by Izvestia earlier this
month.
However,
the three plaintiffs, who were not named, argued that “they could
always remove their Hijab for necessary identification purposes and
only before women officers. Islam forbids a woman from removing her
Hijab, except before her unmarriageable relatives or women.
For
his part, Russia’s Mufti Tala’t Tag Edeen said Friday, July 19,
2002, that Muslim women are free to act according to their beliefs. He
further called on the concerned authorities not to create a problem
out of nothing. “This should not have reached courts in the first
place,” Tag Edeen added, quoted by Interfax.
“If
there freedom in this country, this should be reflected in the daily
practices. Muslim women should be entitled to wear Hijab. It is their
Islamic way of dress. They are also entitled to put their photos with
Hijab on their passports,” the Mufti added.
The
Federation of Tatarstan Muslim Women, in cooperation with Russia’s
Muslim Women Federation, presented an appeal, on June 6, 2002, to
Tatarstan President Mintymir Shamymov, asking him to allow Muslim
women to use pictures with Hijab on their passports. The Russian
government insists on depriving them from that right.
“The
Tataristani and Russian constitutions both advocate the freedom of all
citizens to believe in whatever religion they choose. As Muslims, we
believe that it is Haram (illegal) for a woman to use a photo without
Hijab. Therefore, we demand them to be allowed not to allow Hijab for
that purpose,” read the appeal.
“Hijab
allows us to reveal our faces, we abide by Islamic teachings,” it
added.
The
Tatarstan Law, issued in 1999, does not prevent Muslim women from
using their photos with Hijab on passports.
Some
80 percent of Tatarstan's 3.8 million population are Muslim Tatars.
The
republic sued for complete autonomy following the Soviet Union's
collapse, issuing its own passports and visas.
The
oil-rich region still enjoys a wide degree of autonomy within the
Russian federation under an agreement brokered with former President
Boris Yeltsin.
Russians
must carry passports with them at all times for identification
purposes.
A
mirror dispute exists in the secular Muslim Caucasus state of
Azerbaijan, where Muslim activists are suing the authorities over
their refusal to issue passports and identity cards to women who are
photographed for the documents with their head covered.
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