Bavarian Constitutional Court Upholds Headscarf Ban

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Liebling:-)))

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Bavarian Constitutional Court Upholds Headscarf Ban

The highest court in the southern German state of Bavaria decided on Monday that the state did not overstep its authority by banning Muslim teachers from wearing headscarves in the classroom.

Bavaria's Constitutional Court decided on Monday that the state law banning Muslim women from wearing headscarves when teaching was not unconstitutional.

"In the context of school supervision, the lawmaker can decide on rules regarding the extent to which teachers are banned from wearing external symbols and pieces of clothing that express a religious or ideological conviction while teaching," said Judge Karl Huber.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Unlike in France, German students are allowed to wear headscarves
An Islamic religious group, which brought the case to the court, claimed that the Bavarian headscarf ban -- which was adopted in November 2004 -- was unconstitutional because it did not treat all religions as equal, outlawing only the headscarf and not the Christian cross or any other religious symbols.

The state government, on the other hand, argued that the hijab -- a headscarf which is meant to shield Muslim women from the eyes of men outside their family -- was clashing with gender equality, which is guaranteed by the constitution.

This latest legal wrangle over headscarves highlights the inconsistency of Bavaria's state's school law. It says that no-one is allowed to wear religious symbols in the classroom -- except Christians and Jews.

All or none

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The debate is, among other things, about reconciling Islam with western values
The heated debate was first sparked in 2003 when Germany's federal Constitutional Court ruled that Muslims could wear their headscarves while teaching but at the same time encouraged new laws to ban religious symbols. Eight German states, including Berlin, have so far passed school laws that ban headscarves.

Unlike other headscarf-banning states, which saw the Muslim attire as an affront to Christian values, Berlin decided to treat all religious symbols on an equal basis.

"Berlin is the only city and German state which has not only banned the headscarf, but all religious symbols in schools -- that is the big difference," said Günther Piening, who is the Berlin commissioner for integration and migration.

"I think that's the only way to do it, because the general ban does not discriminate against one religion," he added. "It abides by the principle of equality as laid down in the German constitution."

Women's rights groups and conservative politicians, however, argue that many Moslem women have no choice but to wear a headscarf because their families demand it. Yet, according to a recent survey conducted by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, 97 percent of those women asked said it was the duty of a Muslim woman to cover her head and that they should be allowed to wear them wherever and whenever they choose -- an opinion not shared by the vast majority of Germans.

Not a political statement

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Ekin Deligöz sees the headscarf as a sign of separation and unwillingness to integrate
According to the deputy secretary general of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Christoph Kannengiesser, the wearing of a headscarf is not necessarily a political statement and it should not stop the communication between Muslims and Germans.

"We must not allow Muslim women to separate themselves from German society," Kannengiesser said. "We have to work harder to integrate them and the women also have to be willing to integrate. Muslims, however, are part of German society and we have to accept it if Muslim girls and women choose to wear the headscarf."

The headscarf debate remains a political hot potato. German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble has repeatedly called on Moslems to accept different opinions on the role of women and the wearing of headscarves.

A few months ago, Ekin Deligöz, an ethnic Turk and member of the Green party in the German parliament, was placed under police protection after receiving death threats because she called on Moslem women to take off their headscarves. The affair triggered an outcry among the German population with many people wondering just how prepared Muslims really are to integrate and also accept criticism.
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Bavarian Constitutional Court Upholds Headscarf Ban | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 15.01.2007
 
This is ridiculous. Let the women practice their religion.
 
Well, this is German school, not muslim school. They are suppose to follow German authority if they want to work for them...

Example: I work for US government and have work rule that they don't want us to wear mini-rock in workplace... I accept their rule but why can't they do the same then?

If they work for German companies then they have to follow their rules and obey German law... German government give beliefs freedom of worship what they like but they have to follow German law/rules if they want to work for them.
 
ahhhh, Their own way preferences Germany law because of this?

Seems Germany law prefer their own and want to destroy their culture ?
Meaning?
 
Liebling:-))) said:
Well, this is German school, not muslim school. They are suppose to follow German authority if they want to work for them...

Example: I work for US government and have work rule that they don't want us to wear mini-rock in workplace... I accept their rule but why can't they do the same then?

If they work for German companies then they have to follow their rules and obey German law... German government give beliefs freedom of worship what they like but they have to follow German law/rules if they want to work for them.
Click to expand...

I never said they weren't required to follow German law, I said that they need to be treated fairly. If Germany refuses to permit German Muslim girls from wearing headscarves to school, then they must also refuse to permit Christians from wearing crosses or other religious paraphernalia.

Otherwise, they are discriminating against Muslims, which is ridiculous.
 
Liebling:-))) said:
...Example: I work for US government and have work rule that they don't want us to wear mini-rock in workplace... I accept their rule but why can't they do the same then?
Click to expand...
What is a "mini-rock"?
 
Reba said:
What is a "mini-rock"?
Click to expand...

http://static.twoday.net/binimwirtshaus/images/mrf_logo_klein_rgb_weiss.gif

shorts
http://www.edwardsgarment.com/images/shorts.jpg

http://www.macrocap.com/images/Strongrem_womens_black_compression_shorts.gif I wear long T-shirt or vest to cover shorts but it still is not acceptance to some of Majors accord sex harrassment.

Some of majors don't like to see us wear like this during hot summer... We have new rules for wearing every 2 to 3 years... Majors come and go every 2to 3 years accord US Army contract.

Capri is acceptance at my work place... I wear them a lot...
caprihose - Google Bilder
 
Teresh said:
I never said they weren't required to follow German law, I said that they need to be treated fairly. If Germany refuses to permit German Muslim girls from wearing headscarves to school, then they must also refuse to permit Christians from wearing crosses or other religious paraphernalia.

Otherwise, they are discriminating against Muslims, which is ridiculous.
Click to expand...

You have a good point about treat fair but I really don't know why Muslim and Christians are being treat differently.

To my opinion, the people goes to school to learn, not to practise religion. Yes the people have freedom to practise their religions outside of schools. I would consider discriminate if German government ban muslim church and religion here in Germany but they didn't... It's only school, not outside of school.

We must respect the laws of the country we live in. People need to remember that church and state are separate and also every culture are different.

Muslim have to respect German´s culture since they choose to live in Germany. I would follow Muslim's law/culture and wear headscarf as what their law/culture require if I live in their country. Germany is free country, that the people choose to worship different religions, not muslim country... Any religion to worship is not acceptance in muslim country.

Muslims can´t expect to have both ways.
 
Thank you. :)

Liebling:-))) said:
http://static.twoday.net/binimwirtshaus/images/mrf_logo_klein_rgb_weiss.gif
Click to expand...
We call that a mini-skirt. I wore those in the 1960's. :P

I wonder why they are called "rocks"?

shorts
http://www.edwardsgarment.com/images/shorts.jpg
Click to expand...
Yes, we call those Bermuda shorts or walking shorts. Hubby and I wear those in hot weather. (Of course, I don't wear them to work. ;) )

http://www.macrocap.com/images/Strongrem_womens_black_compression_shorts.gif I wear long T-shirt or vest to cover shorts but it still is not acceptance to some of Majors accord sex harrassment.
Click to expand...
Those look like bicycle or exercise shorts. Definitely not professional clothing for office or work.

I prefer capris (or "clam-diggers" or "pedal-pushers") too, because they cover more of my veins. :P
 
Reba, thank you for teach me American language... :thumb:

I don´t know why British and German call "rocks" like this... :dunno:
 
When Faith is More Important than School

When Faith is More Important than School

German schools are increasingly grappling with cases of Muslim girls pushing for exemption from co-ed swimming and sports on religious grounds, sorely testing the country's ability to integrate its Muslim population.

With her flawless German, good grades and ambition to study towards a career, Ayse Yilmaz seems a model of Muslim integration at her Berlin high school.

She considers herself part of a growing group of young, educated Muslims who have "a modern understanding of Islam," as the 18-year-old student of Turkish-Kurdish origin puts it. But Yilmaz --whose name has been changed here to protect her anonymit -- has angered school authorities by refusing to take off her headscarf during sports class and going on school trips with her classmates.

“I felt uncomfortable about the alcohol, partying and fooling around that takes place there,” said Yilmaz of the trips. As for her headscarf, Yilmaz says, "There is no question of me taking it off just for sports or something. It's just part of me."

Yilmaz’s arguments are becoming familiar ones to school authorities across Germany, as Muslim students and their parents clash with schools over whether the tenants of their faith should be allowed to bend the rules of Germany's secular school system. Though no reliable statistics are available, school authorities across the country say that an increasing number of Muslim parents are demanding exemptions for their daughters on religious grounds from co-ed swimming, sports and biology classes.

Thwarting integration efforts?

The issue has turned into a potent flashpoint in German schools struggling with Muslim integration.

“It’s a difficult situation,” said Marion Berning, director of the Rixdorfer primary school, one of the largest in Berlin’s Neukölln district, where girls with headscarves are a common sight. “We have Muslim girls who say they don’t want to swim with the boys. It’s obvious the parents exert pressure on them, but they (the parents) have to accept that co-education is part of German schools."

At another school in Berlin's Turkish-
Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: Sex is "absolutely taboo at home."dominated Kreuzberg district, principal Annette Spieler worries Muslim girls exempted from biology class are missing out on lessons vital to teenagers.

"When it comes to sex education, it’s shocking how little the Muslim students know about the topic. It’s absolutely taboo in their homes,” she said.

Resurgent Muslim identity

In the absence of a common law governing the issue, some schools have attempted to appease Muslim parents by offering gender-segregated biology and swimming classes, discussing the issue with them in parent-teacher meetings or allowing Muslim girls to wear loose-fitting clothing during sports.

But that hasn’t stopped some Muslim parents from appealing to the courts to enforce their religious rights.

In 1993, a landmark ruling by Germany’s Federal Administrative Court allowed a 13-year-old Turkish girl to be exempted from co-ed sport lessons if the school failed to proved gender-segregated sports class. The girl’s father argued that his daughter would face a moral conflict if she was forced to do sports with boys in tight-fitting clothes.

In another instance, a court in Münster in 2002 exempted a Muslim girl in the 10th grade from a class trip after her parents argued their faith forbade their daughter to stay overnight outside of the house without the company of a male relative.

The court cases point to what Islam experts say is the growing need within the Muslim community to assert themselves in Western society.

“The message is ‘we’re here, we’re proud, we’re going to live our religion and not going to hide ourselves anymore’,” said Riem Spielhaus, an Islamic studies lecturer at Berlin’s Humboldt University.

But teachers and experts say such court rulings run the risk of subverting German school law, which clearly states that sports and swimming is mandatory for all children. In addition, making exceptions for Muslim students amounts to giving preferential treatment to one religion and could lead to their isolation, said Turgut Hüner.

The chairman of the Turkish Parents Organization in Berlin-Brandenburg believes the trend among Muslim parents to exempt their children from class has been fueled by the introduction of Islamic religious classes in German schools.

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: What is being taught in mosques and the Koranic schools they sponsor?While learning their own language and religion is vital to second-generation Muslims living in the country, Hüner warned that it’s important to know just what is being taught under the guise of religious instruction.

He criticized Berlin school authorities for allowing organizations such as the strongly-conservative Islamic Federation, which is on German law enforcement's watch list, to impart Islamic instruction in 28 schools in the German capital.

“It’s a slippery slope," said Hüner. "That’s when some parents get old-fashioned ideas into their hands and decide not to send their daughters to biology or swimming class."

Living in a Muslim virtual world

Indeed, the Islamic Federation ran into trouble recently with the Berlin education ministry for allegedly handing out application forms printed from the Internet to Muslim parents to get their daughters exempted from co-educative classes.

A look at the virtual world shows just how easy that is. A Web site called Muslim-Markt.de run by two Muslim brothers offers Muslims links and information to Muslim doctors, lawyers, hairdressers, companies and so on.

The site "Muslimrecht," based in Hamburg, offers detailed moral and legal guidelines to Muslim parents wanting to free their daughters from co-ed sports and swimming lessons. “If you don’t stand up for your rights, it won’t just become a disadvantage to you, but will also lead to a restriction of rights for the coming generation of students,” it warns its readers.

Headscarf equals "problem child"?

Bildunterschrift: Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The debate is simmeringWhile the debate simmers, some experts say it also reflects German teachers’ poor understanding of the delicate integration process underway.

“Many have no idea how difficult it can be for a Muslim girl caught between her traditional parents and a more permissive western society where she’s growing up,” said Spielhaus.

Yilmaz knows that only too well.

“As a Muslim girl with a headscarf you’re immediately labeled ‘dumb’," she said. "I have to work extra hard at school to earn the recognition of my teachers so that they don’t think I’m a problem child."
Click to expand...

When Faith is More Important than School | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 23.04.2004


I understand why it has to be stop... they should go school to learn, not practise their beliefs.
 
Another attempt to introduce the Koran and Sharia law into Germany:

Anger at German Koran divorce ban
German politicians and Muslim groups have expressed outrage over the case of a German judge who refused to allow a Muslim woman a quick divorce.

The woman, a German citizen of Moroccan descent, had asked for an immediate divorce, saying her husband beat her.

But the female judge ruled that, under the law of the Koran, the woman had not been subject to unacceptable behaviour, the court in Frankfurt said.

The judge had now been removed from the divorce proceedings, it said.

She had argued that the couple's Moroccan cultural background meant it was "not unusual" for the husband to physically punish his wife.

The woman's domestic abuse therefore did not make her case one of exceptional hardship, she claimed.

When challenged about her ruling, the judge cited a passage from the Koran.

Shock

The country's Central Council of Muslims condemned the decision, which it said should be based on German law.

"The judge should have made a decision based on the German constitution instead of the Koran," spokeswoman Nurhan Soykan said.

She added that mistreatment and violence were also grounds for divorce in the Islamic world.

German lawmakers said that Sharia, or traditional Islamic law, had no place in Germany.

"The legal and moral concepts of Sharia have nothing to do with German jurisprudence," said Wolfgang Bosbach, a lawmaker with the Christian Democrats.

"One thing must be clear: in Germany only German law applies," he added.

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Europe | Anger at German Koran divorce ban
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Good thing the Germans nipped that one in the bud!
 
Teresh said:
I never said they weren't required to follow German law, I said that they need to be treated fairly. If Germany refuses to permit German Muslim girls from wearing headscarves to school, then they must also refuse to permit Christians from wearing crosses or other religious paraphernalia.

Otherwise, they are discriminating against Muslims, which is ridiculous.
Click to expand...

The problem is that headscarves are their part of their everyday life. You simply can not remove their very attire they wear everyday. It is for the purpose of not only religion but modesty. They're really discriminating against Islam entirely whether they admit it or not.
 
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