Leading German feminist calls for headscarf ban in schools

Die grosse VerschleierungThe headscarf is more than just a piece of fabric, more than just another article of clothing, and definitely not some hip lifestyle accessory that heavily made-up girls should use to add a little color to their wardrobe. No, the head scarf is a “flag and symbol of Islamists” which “followed a crusade all the way to the heart of Europe by the 1980s.” Or so says iconic German feminist Alice Schwarzer in her new book, “The Great Cover Up: For Integration, against Islamism”.

The book was recently published in German under the name “Die grosse Verschleierung: Fuer Integration, gegen Islamismus,” and its strong statements been an injection of yet more fuel into the already burning integration debate in Germany.

Teachers are no longer allowed to wear the head scarf in German public schools, and now Schwarzer has demanded the next step: Girls should be forbidden to wear it as well.

According to the book, fundamentalists are on the march in Germany. And the real problem, Schwarzer says, is the “systematic undermining of our educational apparatus and the legal system.”

Amidst such alarmist tones, it is almost surprising to find in the book a few sober facts from a recent study on Muslim women in Germany. For one: just a small minority of them actually wear a headscarf. Even among those who consider themselves “very religious,” just half of the respondents said they covered their heads.

Deutsche Welle, 26 September 2010

‘Say no to burqas’ mural is not anti-Islam says Sydney artist

Say no to burqas muralSecurity has been called in after tensions threatened to boil over a provocative mural to ban burqas at a Newtown workshop.

Following artist Sergio Redegalli’s painting opposing the Islamic face covering veils with the slogan “Say no to burqas”, security outside the premises has been called in after tensions threatened to boil over.

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Burnley College bans students and visitors from wearing veil

Burnley College logoMuslim students and visitors have been banned from wearing veils in a controversial new crackdown on security at a leading sixth-form college. Staff posted a notice in the reception area advising anyone coming on site to “remove items of clothing which cover their face”. But the move has angered Muslim groups who say people should be allowed to wear what they like.

The ban is “an essential element for a safe environment” said Burnley College in Lancashire. However, the University of Central Lancashire, which operates out of the same campus, permits veils.

“There are human rights issues at stake here. People have the right and freedom to wear what they want,” said Abdul Hamid Qureshi, chairman of the Lancashire Council of Mosques. “It seems Burnley College has one policy on veils and the university has another and I just think to ban veils altogether is excessive. If security is an issue the person coming in a burka should show their face to the security guard at the college,” he added.

Labour councillor Wajid Khan said: “People should be able to wear what they want – this is the beautiful thing about our society, to be able to wear what you want. This choice and diversity is why our country is so great. We have this equality of opportunity and we have this real tolerance,” added Mr Khan, a course leader at the University of Central Lancashire.

In 2009, the same college sparked a row when Shawana Bilqes, 18, was banned from wearing a burka, a move she claimed forced her to abandon a HE Diploma course. “It is not possible to maintain essential full communication if the face of any student is not fully visible,” said the then principal John Smith.

Metro, 23 September 2010

See also the Daily Express which reports that “bosses at a leading sixth-form college were praised yesterday for their ‘commonsense approach’ in banning Islamic veils, including burkhas, in a security crackdown”. The two individuals quoted as supporting Burnley College’s decision are Tory MPs Philip Davies and Philip Hollobone.

Update:  See “Call for Burnley College to rethink headwear ban”, BBC News, 24 September 2010

Italy: veil ban back in the spotlight

National debate over a “burqa ban” was back in the spotlight on Tuesday following an official request for the Senate to discuss the security implications of Islamic face coverings. Senator Ada Spadoni Urbani of Premier Silvio Berlusconi’s People of Freedom party group (PdL) presented a motion on behalf of her party addressing the issue. The motion is aimed “at resolving the public security issues raised by the custom of wearing the burqa or other clothing that prevents accurate identification,” she explained. “This is not intended to discriminate in any way against religious beliefs”.

The rightwing Northern League party promised a bill on the issue on Friday, while a row has been simmering for a number of days over whether a mother should be permitted to wear a face veil while dropping her child off at nursery school. Other parents at the school in the small Lazio village of Sonnino had reportedly complained to the school’s head that the woman’s niqab scared their own children. On Monday, Sonnino Mayor Gino Cesare Gasbarrone announced a compromise had been reached following a meeting with all parties whereby the woman had agreed to remove the veil once on the school premises.

Meanwhile, the Northern League proposal, a translation of the recently approved French bill, will join eight other draft laws already under consideration by parliament. The bill would prevent women from wearing a face veil in public, including in schools, on public transport or in any kind of office. The penalty for transgressors would be a fine of between 150 and 300 euros or alternatively some kind of community service “aimed at encouraging integration”, explained League Deputy Whip Carolina.

But unlike other proposals, the new bill will also punish anyone “who forces someone else to wear it, using either physical or psychological violence”. This offence would be punishable by a year in prison and a 30,000 euro fine.

A 1975 law already prohibits any mask or clothing that makes it impossible to identify the wearer. In its current form, it permits exceptions for “justified cause”, which has been interpreted as including religious reasons in court rulings against local attempts to ban the burqa and niqab. Most of the bills currently before the Italian parliament would amend the 1975 law to make specific reference to Islamic face coverings.

Commenting on the Sonnino case, Isabella Bertolini of the PdL said the case demonstrated a “growing imperative for a complete ban on the burqa in all places, not just in schools”. “Our society’s flexibility leads our institutions at all levels to interpret laws in the most politically correct way possible, causing incalculable damage,” she said.

ANSA, 21 September 2010

Italy: Northern League introduces veil ban bill

Carolina LussanaItaly’s anti-immigrant North League party has introduced a bill in the lower house of parliament seeking ban on burqa, the full body veil worn by Muslim women.

According to the legislation, wearing burqa will be punishable by a year in prison, fines of €150 to €300 for the wearer and €30,000 for anyone forcing a woman to don the face-covering Islamic garment. Anyone coercing a minor or a disabled woman into wearing a burqa will be eligible for a €60,000 fine. If a woman is wearing the burqa of her own volition, the €150-€300 fine can be reduced, if she agrees to do community service aimed at better integrating Muslim immigrants.

“This bill represents a step forward because we are not just facing a problem of public order, but – we believe – an offence to women’s dignity”, said Carolina Lussana, Northern League member of parliament, handing over the copy of the bill to reporters. “It is also a violation of the principle of equality between men and women enshrined in our constitution,” she said.

The bill is likely to draw criticism from many Muslim immigrants, but 73 percent of Italians believe the burqa should not be allowed to be worn in public places, according to a recent poll by Panel Data.

IANS/AKI, 18 September 2010

US security company sued for religious discrimination over headscarf ban

A Philadelphia-area security company violated federal law when it terminated a security officer for wearing a religious head scarf and threatened to terminate other Muslim employees if they wore religious garments while on duty, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it announced today.

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French Senate backs veil ban

France’s Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill that would ban wearing the Islamic full veil in public. The proposed measure was already backed by the lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, in July. The ban will come into force in six months’ time if it is not overturned by constitutional judges.

BBC News, 14 September 2010

See also Guardian, 14 September 2010

US Appeals Court orders new hearing in hijab case

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said on Monday that a majority of its 27 judges voted to set aside the court’s earlier ruling in the case.

A federal appeals court has ordered a new hearing for a Muslim woman who was made to remove her religiously mandated headscarf by Orange County deputies in a courthouse holding cell.

A three-judge panel of the court decided in May that deputies had not violated Souhair Khatib’s rights when they ordered her to remove the head scarf for security reasons.

The incident occurred after a judge revoked Khatib’s probation for a conviction on a misdemeanor charge.

At issue is whether a courthouse holding cell qualifies as a pretrial detention facility under a federal law that protects inmates’ religious practices.

The case is scheduled for rehearing in December.

Associated Press, 14 September 2010

NSW Opposition won’t support veil ban Bill

The NSW Opposition says it will not support a Bill seeking to ban the wearing of burqas and other face veils in public, delivering a final blow to the hopes of its author, the conservative MP Fred Nile.

The Christian Democratic Party MP introduced the Bill in June, even though the same Bill was voted down by the NSW Upper House in May.

Two weeks ago NSW Premier Kristina Keneally announced that Labor MPs would not support the proposed legislation, giving it little chance of success. “Such a ban has no place in multicultural NSW,” she said.

Opposition Leader Barry O’Farrell said today that the Coalition had also decided it would not back the burqa ban Bill. “We decided last week, the Liberal-National parties, that there shouldn’t be discrimination,” Mr O’Farrell told Macquarie Radio.

Herald Sun, 10 September 2010