Hijab is a religious obligation in Islam

WIESBADEN, Germany, February 12 (IslamOnline.net) – The dominant party in a German state has proposed a ban on Muslim civil servants wearing hijab, claiming that the covering is a political rather than religious statement, according to a press report.

The conservative Christian Democrats' leader in the state legislature, Franz-Josef Jung, argued that the headscarf is a political rather than a religious signal and a symbol of repression, The Guardian reported Wednesday, February 11.

The party, which has a majority in Hesse, hopes to push its so-called “bill to secure state neutrality” through by the summer.

The measure, the paper said, goes further than three other states' proposals to outlaw hijab for public school teachers.

The European country’s 16 states have been divided over whether to ban Muslim teachers from wearing hijab in the classroom since the nation's highest court ruled in September that they were allowed unless existing legislation specifically outlawed them.

Although the court stated that any new laws must treat all religions equally, many in Germany claim, like Jung, that hijab is a political symbol, said The Guardian.

Hijab is a religious obligation in Islam, rather than a symbol of religious affiliation as many thought the gear to be.

Germany has roughly 3.5 million Muslims, most of Turkish origin.

Crosses Excluded

Crosses would be excluded from the proposed Hesse ban, which calls for authorities to take account of “Christian and humanist Western tradition”.

The exclusion would belie earlier statements of German President Johannes Rau, who said in an interview published December 28 that if hijab was banned all crosses and other religious signs should be taken off as well.

Rau has then said hijab should not be a cause for concern inside the German society, criticizing such concerns as groundless.

There is nothing wrong for Muslim women to put a piece of cloth atop of their heads in obedience to their religion, the German leader has said.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder voiced on December 21 his opposition to public servants wearing hijab, but said he was not against students taking them on in schools.

In October last year, seven states backed a legislation barring hijab at a meeting of 16 regional ministers for culture, education and religious affairs in the western German city of Darmstadt while eight opposed such laws.

The country is also taking measures towards the integration of Muslims. On January 7, the German state of Baden-Württemberg decided to introduce Turkish as an optional language in all schools, to the satisfaction of the Turkish majority here.

Rau also highlighted in the interview that Muslims should not be treated as second-class students, and urged the German people to demonstrate mutual understanding with Muslims living in the north-central European country.

A new field study revealed a few days ago that up to 50 percent of school students between the age of 13 to 18 in the German city of Frankfurt have experimented with drugs and alcohol, but Muslim students recording the lowest percentage.

In France Tuesday, lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a law to ban the Islamic wear and other religious insignia in schools, despite the fierce opposition from the country’s sizable minorities and international rights groups.