You think France did it to ban religious symbols? Right. It allows Yarmulkes and it allows crosses unless they are extremely large. I don't remember ever seeing too many school kids in Paris wearing large wooden crosses around their necks. Also the Sikh population has been often allowed to skirt this rule by arguing it is culture, and not religion.
This rule in France was put in place because of a problem with the integration of a large number of Muslim Arab immigrants. And again, France and Germany have great ties to the region where those immigrants came from. In fact, there were several religious leaders in Iran, I believe, that said that since it is France's land they have every right to do that (why wouldn't they since Iran forces you to wear a headscarf no matter if you're Muslim or not).
-Rudey
Quote:
Originally posted by moe.ron
They are targetting only Muslim women who wear headscarves. This legislation does not cover nuns who works in public school (yes, there are many that does), nor other religions.
There are doubts wether this particular legislation is even legal.
The ECHR states that in Article 9:
'Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief, in worship, teaching, practice and observance'
However section 2 of article 9, which is likely to be used by the federal state in question as a defence states that
'Freedom to manifest one's religion or beliefs shall be subject only to such limitations as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of public safety, for the protection of public order, health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others'.
I feel the only way this defence could work, 'to protect the rights and freedoms of others', which is why the federal constitutional court also would have said that 'new laws could be passed by individual states banning them if they were deemed to unduly influence pupils', is by widening the law to cover all religious symbols like in France. Otherwise it prevents solely a certain minority of people from expressing their religious freedom while others of other religions are entitled to the same right, for example nuns teaching in public schools (they do exist) would still be able to wear a veil as would Christian fundamentalist teachers who want to wear a cross, Jewish teachers who want to wear a yamulke, etc. If they are suggesting the rights and freedoms of others are solely threatened by Muslim teachers it would be hugely controversial.
|