AFP, WIESBADEN, Germany (AP) – The dominant party in the western German state of Hesse on Tuesday proposed legislation that would ban Muslim civil servants from wearing headscarves, a measure that goes further than three other states' proposals to outlaw the veil for public school teachers.
The conservative Christian Democrats' leader in the state legislature, Franz-Josef Jung, argued that the headscarf is a political rather than a religious statement and a symbol of repression. The party, which has a majority in Hesse, hopes to push its so-called “bill to secure state neutrality'' through by the summer.
Germany has roughly 3.5 million Muslims, most of Turkish origin.
Its 16 states have been divided over whether to ban Muslim teachers from covering their heads in the classroom since the nation's highest court ruled in September that veils were allowed unless existing legislation specifically outlawed them.
Although the court stated that any new laws must treat all religions equally, many in Germany argue, like Jung, that the headscarf is a political symbol. Crosses would be excluded from the proposed Hesse ban, which calls for authorities to take account of “Christian and humanist Western tradition.''
Unlike the government in neighboring France, the German states are not trying to ban school students from wearing Islamic head scarves and other religious apparel. Students will still have the right to dress as they please.
In France on Tuesday, lawmakers overwhelmingly backed a law to ban Islamic head scarves and other conspicuous religious displays in schools.
