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Belgium joins French move to ban Islamic scarf in schools, offices

Belgium joins French move to ban Islamic scarf in schools, offices

Author: Vijay Dutt
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: January 20, 2004
URL: http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_539204,00050003.htm

Belgium is now in the line to ban school pupils and civil servants from wearing hijab. The emotive demonstrations by about 15,000 Muslims across France on Saturday against its planned law to ban the wearing of hijab by girls in state schools has had apparently no effect on authorities in Belgium.

Inspired by France, two Belgian senators have drafted legislation to ban the veil and other overt religious symbols from state schools. The Islamic groups are outraged at the move. Belgium has nearly 350,000 Muslims mainly from North Africa and Turkey.
 
The Belgian Interior Minister Patrick Dewael was denounced for declaring his support for the ban. He supports ban not only in state schools but in all state institutions, including hospitals and government offices.

"The Government should remain neutral.so there should be no visible use of religious symbols or veils for police officers, judges, clerks or teachers in public schools."

The minister was criticised by a few of his colleagues, but the two senators who have drafted the proposal have justified the plan. They said the ban was needed to combat Islamic sexism. "The veil amounts to oppression of the individual in the name of the religion," said senator Anne-Marie Lizin, a socialist.

The Bavarian Government supports her view. It has held that the ban was necessary because the scarf became "a symbol of fundamentalism and extremism". Overall, in Germany hijab is banned in seven out of 16 states.

The protests similar to being held in France are now expected in Belgium. Islamic groups have joined forces to condemn the move and the attempt to copy the French. But supporters of the ban argue that the veil is already banned in two Muslim countries, Tunisia and Turkey.

The movement in Europe for the bannning of hijab could cut across most countries there. In the UK, the possibilty is that the ban would not be considered. There is already a lot of resentment in the Muslim and Jew communities over the move to stop the sale of halal meat on the ground that this type of slaughter is very cruel and causes extreme pain to animals.
 


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