Hijab by country

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The hijab has different legal and cultural statuses in various countries. There are currently four countries, including France (since 2004), which have banned the wearing of the hijab (a Muslim headscarf, literally Arabic "to cover") in public schools and universities or government buildings.^[1] and banned in 8 states of Germany. Currently Tunisia since 1981,^[2] and Turkey since 1997,^[3] are the only Muslim countries which have banned the hijab, in other Muslim states such as Morocco,^[4] there has been some restrictions or discriminations against the hijab, the hijab in these cases are seen as a sign of political Islam or fundamentalism against secular government.

The Islamic dress, notably the variety of headdresses worn by Muslim women, has become a prominent symbol of the presence of Islam in western Europe. In several countries this adherence to hijab has led to political controversies and proposals for a legal ban. The Netherlands government has decided to introduce a ban on face-covering clothing, popularly described as the "burqa ban", although it does not only apply to the Afghan-model burqa. Other countries are debating similar legislation, or have more limited prohibitions. Some of them apply only to face-covering clothing such as the burqa, chador, boushiya, or niqāb; some apply to any clothing with an Islamic religious symbolism such as the khimar, a type of headscarf. (Some countries already have laws banning the wearing of masks in public, which can be applied to veils that conceal the face). The issue has different names in different countries, and "the veil" or "hijab" may be used as general terms for the debate, representing more than just the veil itself, or the concept of modesty embodied in hijab.

Although the Balkans and Eastern Europe have indigenous Muslim populations, most Muslims in western Europe are members of immigrant communities. The issue of Islamic dress is linked with issues of immigration and the position of Islam in western society.

Contents 1 Europe 1.1 Belgium 1.2 Denmark 1.3 France 1.4 Germany 1.5 Italy 1.6 Netherlands 1.7 United Kingdom 2 Muslim world 2.1 Afghanistan 2.2 Bangladesh 2.3 Egypt 2.4 Indonesia 2.5 Iran 2.6 Jordan 2.7 Lebanon 2.8 Malaysia 2.9 Morocco 2.10 Pakistan 2.11 Saudi Arabia 2.12 Tunisia 2.13 Turkey 3 See also 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Europe

European Commissioner Franco Frattini stated in November 2006, that he did not favour a ban on the burqa.^[5] This is apparently the first official statement on the issue of prohibition of Islamic dress from the European Commission, the executive of the European Union.

The reasons given for prohibition vary. Legal bans on face-covering clothing are often justified on security grounds, as an anti-terrorism measure. However, the public controversy is wider, and may be indicative of polarisation between Muslims and western European societies.^{[citation needed]}

For some critics, Islamic dress is an issue of value conflicts and the Clash of Civilizations. These critics - prominent among them is Ayaan Hirsi Ali - see Islam as incompatible with Western values, at least in its present form. They advocate the values of 'Enlightenment liberalism', including secularism and equality of women. For them, the burqa or chador are both a symbol of religious obscurantism and the oppression of women. Western Enlightenment values, in their view, require prohibition, regardless of whether a woman has freely chosen Islamic dress. A more extreme, related view is that freely chosen Islamic dress is a declaration of allegiance to radical Islamism, and the wearers are enemies of western society, if not terrorists.

Islamic dress is also seen as a symbol of the existence of parallel societies (German: Parallelgesellschaft), and the failure of integration: in 2006 British Prime Minister Tony Blair described it as a "mark of separation".^[6] Visible symbols of a non-western culture conflict with the national identity in European states, which assumes a shared (non-religious) culture. Proposals for a ban may be linked to other related cultural prohibitions: the Dutch politician Geert Wilders proposed a ban on Hijab, on Islamic schools, on new mosques, and on non-western immigration.

In France and Turkey, the emphasis is on the secular nature of the state, and the symbolic nature of the Islamic dress, and bans apply at state institutions (courts, civil service) and in state-funded education. These bans also cover Islamic headscarves, which in some other countries are seen as less controversial, although law court staff in the Netherlands are also forbidden to wear Islamic headscarves on grounds of 'state neutrality'.

An apparently less politicised argument is that in specific professions (teaching), a ban on "veils" (niqab) is justified, since face-to-face communication and eye contact is required. This argument has featured prominently in judgments in Britain and the Netherlands, after students or teachers were banned from wearing face-covering clothing.

Public and political response to such prohibition proposals is complex, since by definition they mean that the government decides on individual clothing. Some non-Muslims, who would not be affected by a ban, see it as an issue of civil liberties, as a slippery slope leading to further restrictions on private life. A public opinion poll in London showed that 75 percent of Londoners support "the right of all persons to dress in accordance with their religious beliefs".^[7] In another poll in the United Kingdom by Ipsos MORI, 61 percent agreed that "Muslim women are segregating themselves" by wearing a veil, yet 77 percent thought they should have the right to wear it.^[8]

[edit] Belgium

Several Belgian municipalities have used municipal by-laws on face-covering clothing to ban public wearing of the niqab and burqa.^[9] The town of Maaseik was to first to implement a ban. A Moroccan immigrant, Khadija El Ouazzani, was fined €75 under the by-law for wearing a burqa: in 2006, a local police court upheld the ban and the fine. According to mayor Jan Creemers (Flemish Christian Democrats), 5 or 6 women in Maaseik had "caused feelings of insecurity" by wearing a burqa, and he had received complaints about them. He personally warned the women to stop: after that only, El Ouazzani continued to wear the burqa, and the by-law was activated.^[10]

In late 2004, at Creemers request, Marino Keulen, Flemish-Liberal interior minister in the Flemish government, created a standard prohibition for burqas, and sent it to all 308 municipalities in Flanders.^[11] The regulation states that persons on the public street and in public buildings must be identifiable at all times, "to protect the social order, which allows a harmonious process of human activities". It prohibits covering the forehead, the cheeks, the eyes, the ears, the nose and the chin. Carnival, Sinterklaas, and Father Christmas are exempt. According to Keulen:

As Minister for Integration I respect culture tradition and belief, but wearing a burqa has nothing to do with religious belief, but with traditional dress in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Besides, wearing a burqa has an intimidating effect, and it can not be tolerated that Muslim women are excluded from society because they are isolated behind their burqa, and can't communicate with the world around them.

All municipalities can choose if they want to adopt the regulation: six have done so. In August 2006, mayor Creemers called for a national ban.^[12] The anti-immigrant and separatist party Vlaams Belang, formerly Vlaams Blok, had earlier advocated a ban at Flemish level, and locally in Antwerp.^[13] Although Vlaams Belang is excluded from power in Antwerp, by a coalition of all other parties, the ban was adopted. It was first applied in 2005, when a woman was fined because only her eyes were visible.^[14]

[edit] Denmark

There is currently no ban on religious Islamic dress in Denmark. However, following an incident in which a burqa-clad journalist was able to pass unchecked through security at Copenhagen airport,^[15] the government stressed to the airports the need for passengers to show their faces.

In 2006 Asmaa Abdol-Hamid caused much debate when she hosted a TV show on DR2 wearing a hijab.^[16] The controversy continued the following year when she announced she would be running for parliament. Member of Parliament Søren Krarup, of the Danish People’s Party, questioned whether wearing a hijab in parliament was constitutional and said the headscarf is a totalitarian symbol, comparable to the Nazi swastika or the communist hammer and sickle.^[17]

In April 2007 the Odense city council asked the Minister for Family and Consumer Affairs of Denmark to rule on a case in which a Muslim woman refused to remove her veil for her job as a family care worker. A majority in parliament was ready to give employers the right to ban Muslim niqab and burka veils for employees.^[18]

In May 2008, the Danish government decided that judges in courts should strive for religious and political neutrality, and that consequently they would no longer be allowed to wear visible religious symbols, including crucifixes, kippahs and head scarves.^[19]

[edit] France

Wikinews has related news: Sarkozy states burqa to be "not welcome" in France

The 2004 French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools bans all clothing which constitutes an ostensible religious symbol from government-operated schools. It is typically justified as a measure to ensure the secularism and religious neutrality of the state - the principle of Laïcité. In December, 2003, President Jacques Chirac supported a new law to explicitly forbid any "visible sign of religious affiliation", in the spirit of laïcité. The law was passed by the French parliament in March 2004.

The law forbids the wearing of any "ostensible" religious articles by students, but does not cite any item; yet, ministerial instructions appear to target the Islamic veil, the Jewish kippa, and large Christian crosses. Instructions permit discreet signs of faith, such as small crosses, Stars of David, and hands of Fatima. The law does not apply to parents or to students attending universities. However, teachers and other school personnel are also prohibited to display their religious affiliation on the basis of "public service neutrality". Similar policies are occasionally applied in other state organizations, such as personnel working in public hospitals.

The French controversy primarily relates to Islamic veil as a symbol of religion that challenges Laïcité, or of female subservience, and only secondarily to practical factors such such as face-to-face communication, or security risks^[20]. The 2004 law says nothing about the wearing of Islamic dress in public (on the street), nor about wearing religious signs in higher education or private education establishments^{[21] [22]}.

In 2009, the issue has not receded with further calls by some government ministers^[23] for a more widespread enquiry on the implications of liberty, subservience and the veil with regards to public life.^[24].

On 22 June 2009, the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, said that burqas are "not welcome" in France, commenting that "In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity,"^[25]. The French National Assembly has appointed 32 lawmakers from right and left-wing parties on a six-month fact-finding mission to look at ways of restricting its use^[26].

[edit] Germany

In one incident involving Islamic dress in Germany, two 18-year old students, one Turkish and one Kurdish, appeared at a school in Bonn in a burqa; they were suspended for "disturbing the peace." The German Finance Minister cancelled a visit to the school, and the two were investigated by the intelligence service, who suspected them of contacts with the controversial King Fahd Academy in Bonn.^[27] The incident illustrates the sensitivity in Germany over Islamic dress, especially in schools. It led the Justice Minister Brigitte Zypries to call for nationwide standard school uniforms (itself a sensitive issue in Germany because of the association with the Nazi Hitler Youth and the East German Free German Youth).

Education in Germany is the responsibility of the individual states, which each have their own education ministry. In September 2003, the German Federal Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht) ruled that the states could ban the wearing of Islamic headscarves by female teachers, and that this would not infringe the constitutional protection of freedom of religion. However, a ban could only be implemented by a state law, and not by administrative decisions. Since then, 8 of the 16 states have introduced a prohibition, first Baden-Württemberg, then Bavaria, Hesse, Lower Saxony, the Saarland, Bremen and North Rhine-Westphalia. The city-state of Berlin banned all religious symbols in public institutions, including the Christian crucifix and the Jewish yarmulke.^[28] In Baden-Württemberg, state courts upheld an appeal against the ban by several Muslim teachers, on the grounds of religious discrimination, since Catholic nuns are allowed to teach in full religious habit. The state government has appealed the decision.

In 2004 the then President of Germany, Johannes Rau, spoke on the 'headscarf issue' and the nature of the German state, as compared to the officially secular French state:^[29]

I fear that a headscarf ban will be the first step on the road to a laicistic state, which will prohibit religious signs and symbols in the public sphere. I don't want to see that happen. That is not my vision of our country, with its centuries of Christian influence.

In Germany women in burqa or chador are forbidden to drive motor vehicles. The Federal Transport Ministry confirmed that a de facto ban already exists.^[30]

In 2006 Ekin Deligöz, a Turkish-born woman parliamentarian, triggered an uproar by calling on fellow Turkish German women to take off their scarves as a way to show their willingness to integrate in German society.^[31]

Naime Çakir, a Muslim activist in Germany, raises other concerns related to headscarves in that banning them in fact increases discrimination of Muslim women and aggravates their integration into the modern society by making it harder for them to find a job and forcing them into an acute conflict between family and society, which places a much more disastrous burden on Muslim women than on Muslim men (see namus and "honor killing" articles). Naime states that for women, education and occupation are more important for emancipation than external attributes of clothing.^[31][32]

[edit] Italy

Immigration in the last two decades has introduced Islam as a second major religion in Italy, a country where the population was traditionally Catholic. The Islamic veil has become a national political issue, usually in combination with other Islam-related issues, such as new mosques, and the teaching of the Quran in schools. The anti-immigrant and separatist Lega Nord has focussed recent campaigns on prohibition of the burqa, although as with the Party for Freedom in the Netherlands, the wider issue is immigration. After local anti-burqa campaigns, several municipalities imposed a ban, but these have been suspended by Regional Administrative Tribunals.^[33] The Regional Administrative Tribunal of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, suppressed, for largely technical reasons, bans imposed by a municipal government. Use of the law 152/1975 - which prohibits the use of motorcycle helmets to evade identification - cannot be extended to cover the veil or burqa.^[34]

[edit] Netherlands

Immigration and Integration minister Rita Verdonk announced in November 2006 that the Netherlands will introduce legislation to ban face-covering clothing in public.^[35] Although a ban was publicly debated earlier, the legislation results directly from a motion tabled in the Dutch House of Representatives by the anti-immigration ^[36] politician Geert Wilders, calling upon the cabinet to introduce it. The cabinet proposals was delayed because of concerns about conflict with freedom of religion. The Third Balkenende cabinet thought that these issues are no longer an obstacle to legislation. The proposal was condemned by Muslim organisations.^[37]

In the November 2006 general election, Wilders' Party for Freedom won 9 seats (out of 150): a complete ban on the burqa and a ban Islamic headscarves in the civil service and schools is part of its platform, but all other parties refuse to include it in a coalition. A group of Muslim women organised a pro-burqa demonstration at the newly elected parliament in The Hague, on 30 November 2006. The demonstration attracted national media attention, despite having only 20 participants.^[38]

Following the 2006 election, the new cabinet has not taken a final decision on whether to introduce a ban, and gave conflicting signals.^[39] A February 2007 opinion poll indicated that 66 percent support a ban and 32 percent oppose it.^[40]

Malaysia protested against the proposed ban soon after it was announced in 2006. Foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar called it a discriminatory treatment of Muslims, and said it infringed freedom of choice. The Islamic headscarf tudung is a political issue in Malaysia itself. According to the UNHCHR, female students in Malaysia itself are pressured to wear the tudung, and it is compulsory for female shop workers in Kelantan, while Malaysian politicians have protested against its prohibition in public schools in Singapore.^[41] According to memo leaked to the Algemeen Dagblad, the Netherlands foreign ministry has warned of a possible controversy, similar to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.^[42]

The proposed legislation in the Netherlands applies nationally. Earlier, schools and other institutions had enforced their own bans on Islamic dress, although usually not on the Islamic headscarf. Employers also have their own policies. Cases of dismissal or exclusion from school are sometimes handled by the Netherlands Equality Commission, creating de facto national guidelines on what constitutes discrimination.^[43] In Amsterdam, school policies attracted media attention after an incident in 2003. A higher vocational college, banned three students for wearing the niqab. One was removed by police when she tried to enter the school wearing the niqab: the school regulations are legally enforceable because unauthorised entry is trespass. The students appealed to the Equality Commission, which ruled (in March 2003) in favour of the school.^[44] The school justified the ban on the grounds that the niqab "hindered eye contact, which testifies to mutual respect". The Commission agreed with the school, indicating that the educational necessity of contact and communication within the school building overrode the religious-freedom aspects. The education minister, Maria van der Hoeven, of the Christian-Democratic party CDA, publicly approved the Commission decision. The Amsterdam CDA subsequently called for a national ban on chador, burqa and niqab in schools, partly on the grounds that they conflicted with common national values.^[45]

The cities of Amsterdam and Utrecht have proposed cutting social security benefit to unemployed women wearing a burqa, on the grounds that it makes them unemployable in a predominantly non-Muslim country.^[46]

[edit] United Kingdom

Lord Chancellor Jack Straw, initiated a nation-wide controversy on "the veil" by criticising its use in 2006. Straw said he would prefer to see no veils: "Yes. It needs to be made clear I am not talking about being proscriptive but with all the caveats, yes, I would rather."^[47]

The legal status of Islamic dress in schools was clarified by the Shabina Begum case, where the Judicial Committee of the House of Lords ruled that freedom to manifest religious beliefs was not absolute, and could be restricted.^[48] Conservative columnist Theodore Dalrymple, noting that Shabina Begum was represented by the Prime Minister's wife Cherie Blair, claims that the judgement was a political one, a concession to Muslim opinion offended by the campaign against Islamist terrorism.^[49]

In the Aishah Azmi case, an employment tribunal held that a school could refuse to employ a veiled teacher (wearing the niqab). Government ministers intervened in the employment tribunal case, supporting the school. This case provoked Prime Minister Tony Blair to comment that the veil was a "mark of separation", and minister Phil Woolas demanded that Azmi be sacked, accusing her of "denying the right of children to a full education". The school subsequently sacked her.^[50]

In another case, a lawyer dressed in a niqab was told by an immigration judge that she could not represent a client because, he said, he could not hear her.^[51]

In reaction, the British educational authorities are proposing a ban on the niqab in schools altogether.^[51]

Veils have also been accused of causing problems in the fight against crime:

• Mustaf Jama, wanted for the murder of British policewoman Sharon Beshenivsky, is reported by some newspaper accounts to have dressed in a Muslim veil in order to flee the country, though the Home Office said "the claim was unlikely to be true as women can be asked to lift veils in identity checks."^[52]
• A man wanted on terrorism charges is also believed to have dressed up in a Burqa, a garment which completely covers the body and face, in order to escape the police.^[53][54][55]

[edit] Muslim world

[edit] Afghanistan

Under the Taliban, the burqa was obligatory. Under the current government, it is technically optional but in southern Afghanistan it is de facto obligatory.

[edit] Bangladesh

There are no laws which require women to cover their heads, and it is not encouraged by the government. Any women can wear the hijab without any restrictions applied. However the national airline, Biman does not allow women to wear hijab. It is mostly worn by women in rural areas, and a few in urban areas.^[56]

[edit] Egypt

About 75 percent of Egyptian women wear a headscarf, and an increasing number also wear the face veil, but small numbers of people wear the niqab. The secular government does not encourage women to wear it, fearing it will present an Islamic extremist political opposition.^[57] There has been some restrictions of wearing the hijab by the government of which it views hijab as a political symbol, in 2002, two presenters were excluded from a state run TV station for deciding to wear hijab on national television.^[58]

[edit] Indonesia

In Indonesia, the term jilbab is used without exception to refer to the 'hijab^[59]. Indonesia as of 2008 the highest population of Muslims, yet the Indonesian Constitution of Panca Sila provides equal State protection for five existing religions, without a supreme or official State religion, despite continuing Islamic fundamentalists' Saudi-funded campaigns to install Islam as official State religion.
Under Indonesian National and Regional Law, female head covering is entirely optional and not obligatory under the Regional or National law but some women may elect to wear a headscarf referred to as a jilbab or kerudung (a tailored veil with a small visor), especially for formal or cultural events such where Muslim religion may be involved- such as official governmental events, funerals, circumcision ceremonies or weddings. <br In practice, the jilbab is a fashion accessory for fashionable women to wear their latest haute couture, expensive branded scarves- an extension of pre-Islamic cultural socio-economic status symbol.
Culturally to the Javanese majority, plain Middle Eastern style hijab or socially worse yet the indigenous peasant kerudung or North Sumatran tudung is concerned vulgar, low-class and a faux pas- traditional Javanese hijab are transparent, sheer intricate brocaded fine silk or lace tailored to match either their sarung or kebaya blouse.
Females may also elect to wear the hijab publicly to avoid unwanted low-class male attention and molestation and thus display their respectability as good Muslim girls that are not an easy conquest^[60] The sole exception where enforced female head covering is mandatory is in Aceh Province, under Islamic Sharia-based Law No 18/2001, granting Aceh special autonomy and through its' own Regional Legislative body Regulation No 5/2001, as popularly selected by the people of Aceh. This Acehnese Hukum Syariah and the reputedly over-bearing "Morality Police" whom enforce its' mandatory public wear are subject of fierce debate especially regards to its' validity viz-a-viz the Constitution among Acehnese male and female Muslim academics, female politicians and female rights advocates^[61][62]

[edit] Iran

Iranian law requires women to wear loose-fitting coats or cloaks in public, as well as a head-scarf that covers the hair. Some women wear a chador and cover their hair almost completely, but most do not.

[edit] Jordan

There are no laws requiring the wearing of headscarves nor any banning such from any public institution. The use of the headscarf increased during the 1980s, however the use of the headscarf among the Jordanian population stands at 55-60%. Many Jordanian women now say the headscarf is now more of a fashion hallmark than for religious purposes. Veils covering the face are rare. The chador is worn by members of the older generations but its popularity is declining.

[edit] Lebanon

The wearing of headscarves has risen since the 1980s, even though Lebanon is seen generally as more liberal than other Middle Eastern countries (with large Christian and secular groups). Women who support Hezbollah wear headscarves generally and some wear the chador, which covers the hair and body but not the face or hands.^[57]

[edit] Malaysia

The headscarf is known as a tudung. Muslim women may freely choose whether or not to wear the headscarf, except when visiting a mosque where the tudung must be worn; this requirement also includes non-Muslims. All female police officers and a majority of Malays do wear the hijab.

[edit] Morocco

The headscarf is not encouraged by governmental institutions, and generally frowned upon by urban middle and higher classes but it is not forbidden by law. The headscarf is becoming gradually more frequent in the north, but as it is not traditional, to wear one is considered rather a religious or political decision. In 2005, a schoolbook for basic religious education was heavily criticized for picturing female children with headscarfs.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Pakistan

While Pakistan has no laws enforcing ħijāb, there are many parts of the country where there is strong social pressure for women to observe ħijāb, or purdah, which is a cultural practice observed even by some Islamized Hindus. Many Pakistani women who observe purdah wear a garment called the pak-chadar, a headscarf with attached veil. However, there are also many Pakistani women who simply wear a dupatta or chunari to cover their heads. These are long scarves, often made of a light material, that match the woman's garments. However, in the major cities of Pakistan most women do not wear Hijab.

[edit] Saudi Arabia

Wearing the hijab is enforced in Saudi Arabia. All Saudi Muslim women are required to wear a full black cloak, called an abaya and a headcovering that conceals their hair. They can be harassed by the religious police if they do not. Many women also cover their face with a niqab. The Saudi niqāb usually leaves a long open slot for the eyes; the slot is held together by a string or narrow strip of cloth.^[63]

Many also have two or more sheer layers attached to the upper band, which can be worn flipped down to cover the eyes. Although a person looking at a woman wearing a niqab with an eyeveil would not be able to see her eyes, she is able to see out through the thin fabric. In 2008, the religious authority in Mecca, Mohammad Habadan called on women to wear veils that reveal only one eye, so that women would not be encouraged to use eye make-up.^[64]

According to Saudi Arabia's Shariah law, a woman's clothing should meet the following conditions:

• Women must cover their entire body, but they are allowed to expose both eyes in necessity.
• Women should wear abaya and niqab thick enough to conceal what is underneath, the abaya should be loose fitting.
• Women should not wear bright coloured clothes or clothes that are adorned so that they may attract the attention of men.^[65]

[edit] Tunisia

Tunisian authorities say they are encouraging women, instead, to "wear modest dress in line with Tunisian traditions" i.e. no headscarf. In 1981, women with headscarves were banned in schools and government buildings, those who insist on it face losing their jobs.^[2] Recently in 2006, the Authorities launched a campaign against the hijab, banning it in some public places, where police stop women on the streets and ask them to remove it, and encourage them not to wear it again. The government described the headscarf as a sectarian form of dress which came uninvited to the country.^[66]

[edit] Turkey

Turkey is officially a secular state, and the hijab is banned in universities and public buildings - this includes libraries or government buildings. The ban was first in place during the 1980 military coup, but the law was strengthened more in 1997.^[67] Over the years thousands of women have been arrested or prosecuted for refusing to take off the hijab or protesting against the ban, by the secular institution.^[68] There has been an increase in the number of people who wear the hijab particularly in Ankara and Istanbul. There has been some unofficial relaxation of the ban under governments led by Islamic-oriented parties in recent years,^[57] for example the current government of the AK Parti are willing to lift the ban in universities, however the new law was upheld by the constitutional court, and on the other hand the military sees itself as the protector of secularism. The ban has been highly controversial since its implementation, in a country where 99% are Muslims and over 60% of women wear the hijab.^[67][69][70]

Turkey is a secular state founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923. Atatürk saw headscarves as backward-looking and an obstacle to his campaign to secularize and modernize the new Turkish Republic. Kemalist ideology continues to emphasize secularism, despite the majority of Turks being Muslims. Until 1960's female students or public servants wearing headscarves were not seen in Turkey.

On February 7, 2008, the Turkish Parliament passed an amendment to the constitution, allowing women to wear the headscarf in Turkish universities, arguing that many women would not seek an education if they could not wear the hijab.^{[71][72][73][74]} The decision was met with powerful opposition and protests from secularists. On June 5, 2008, the Constitutional Court of Turkey reinstated the ban on constitutional grounds of the secularity of the state. Headscarves had become a focal point of the conflict between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the secularist establishment, which includes the courts, universities, and army. The ruling was widely seen as a victory for Turks who claim this maintains Turkey's separation of state and religion.

[edit] See also

• Hijab
• Headscarf controversy in Turkey
• Multiculturalism
• Eurabia
• Muslims in Western Europe
• Women in Muslim societies
• Islam and clothing
• Hijab controversy in Quebec
• Snow (novel)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• VEIL Project - Values, Equality and Differences in Liberal Democracies. Debates about Muslim Headscarves in Europe (University of Vienna)
• Headscarf defeat riles French Muslims from BBC News
• Q&A: Muslim headscarves from BBC News
• Judge Rules Philadelphia Police Can Ban Head Scarves
• Shabina Begum case: School wins Muslim dress appeal (March 22, 2006)
• Wrong from Head to Toe - Theodore Dalrymple
• Islamism in Europe - Mark Steyn
• The Veil and the British Male Elite
• Behind the Scarfed Law, There is Fear - Alain Badiou
• The Islamic veil across Europe(BBC)-How approaches to the Muslim veil differ across Europe
• Sarkozy: Burqas Are 'Not Welcome' In France by The Huffington Post, June 22 2009