Only an observation, but with the recent French ban and now Germany it actually looks like there is an active effort by the euro dudes to legislate against the incursion of islamic practices/customs in schools.
(I would not be surprised to see it applied to immigration either.)
I do not know if this is a good or a bad thing for the future.
The motivation must be fear/apprehension, places like France have a very big Moslem population.
The door is being slammed at a very early stage, but Islam is not renowned for its ability to compromise.
The French had a reputation for being the smartest colonials.
From a native perspective, apparently, the French were the most difficult to fool out of all the western dudes.
I do know that I have no fear of Islam in the UK, but we are an extremely non-religious society in the UK, we are apparently one of the 'worst' societies for that religion/God stuff.
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German state backs headscarf ban
Teacher Fereshta Ludin's case prompted states to legislate
The southern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg has become the first in the country to ban teachers from wearing Islamic headscarves.
The state assembly approved the law almost unanimously, but Muslim groups said it eroded religious freedom.
The law follows last year's ruling by Germany's highest court that states could ban headscarves if they were deemed to unduly influence pupils.
Another five out of 16 states are in the process of passing similar bans.
On Wednesday, Berlin's regional government agreed to outlaw all religious symbols for civil servants, although the bill still needs to be approved by the regional legislature.
Fierce debates
Baden-Wuerttemberg's parliament - dominated by a coalition of the opposition Christian Democratic Union and liberal Free Democrats - backed the deal almost unanimously.
State culture minister Annette Schavan was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying that headscarves had no place in schools as they were "open to interpretation", including a possible espousal of "Islamic political views".
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.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3591043.stm
[This message was edited by eek on April 01, 2004 at 09:54 PM.]
(I would not be surprised to see it applied to immigration either.)
I do not know if this is a good or a bad thing for the future.
The motivation must be fear/apprehension, places like France have a very big Moslem population.
The door is being slammed at a very early stage, but Islam is not renowned for its ability to compromise.
The French had a reputation for being the smartest colonials.
From a native perspective, apparently, the French were the most difficult to fool out of all the western dudes.
I do know that I have no fear of Islam in the UK, but we are an extremely non-religious society in the UK, we are apparently one of the 'worst' societies for that religion/God stuff.
--------------------------------------------
German state backs headscarf ban
Teacher Fereshta Ludin's case prompted states to legislate
The southern German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg has become the first in the country to ban teachers from wearing Islamic headscarves.
The state assembly approved the law almost unanimously, but Muslim groups said it eroded religious freedom.
The law follows last year's ruling by Germany's highest court that states could ban headscarves if they were deemed to unduly influence pupils.
Another five out of 16 states are in the process of passing similar bans.
On Wednesday, Berlin's regional government agreed to outlaw all religious symbols for civil servants, although the bill still needs to be approved by the regional legislature.
Fierce debates
Baden-Wuerttemberg's parliament - dominated by a coalition of the opposition Christian Democratic Union and liberal Free Democrats - backed the deal almost unanimously.
State culture minister Annette Schavan was quoted by the AFP news agency as saying that headscarves had no place in schools as they were "open to interpretation", including a possible espousal of "Islamic political views".
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.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3591043.stm
[This message was edited by eek on April 01, 2004 at 09:54 PM.]
