Institute Monitoring Western Europe's Turn Against Religious Garb

Washington, D.C. - The Institute on Religion and Public Policy is watching
closely the debates in Western Europe regarding religious garb.

As Europe struggles with the integration of its rising Muslim population and
a new wave of anti-Semitism, a long-awaited official report on church-state
relations in France is recommending sweeping changes in the way the country
balances its fierce commitment to secularism with the demands of its
religious minorities.

The French report's most dramatic recommendation, which was delivered Friday
to President Jacques Chirac, was to urge passage of a law banning
"conspicuous" religious symbols in public schools. Such symbols would
include head scarves worn by Muslim girls, skullcaps worn by Jewish boys,
and large crosses worn by Christians.

Although the report was into the wider question of French secularism, debate
on the issue has focused on the wearing of Islamic headscarves in schools.

The official commission, headed by former minister Bernard Stasi, offered
recommendations would outlaw the Jewish kippa, large Christian crosses and
the Islamic headscarf, which would be considered overt religious symbols.

"Discreet" medallions and pendants which merely confirm a person's religious
faith would be allowed. "Muslims must understand that secularism is a chance
for Islam," Mr. Stasi told a news conference on Thursday. "Secularism is the
separation of church and state, but it is also the respect of differences."
The commission's proposed law was intended so people of all religions could
"live together in public places", he said.

A group of Muslim women have sent a letter to the prime minister, saying
that they are both fully Islamic and fully French citizens, and that they
will take their case to the European Court of Human Rights, if he persists
in his forced secularization.

The government in Germany's biggest state, Bavaria, has prepared a draft law
to ban Muslim teachers from wearing headscarves in schools.

A Bavarian cabinet minister said the aim was to protect school pupils
against fundamentalist influences. The bill is expected to be passed next
year in the regional parliament, which is dominated by the Christian Social
Union (CSU) party.

Bavaria, after Baden-Wuerttemberg, is the second state to propose a ban.

Bavarian Education Minister Monika Hohlmeier said the headscarf was
increasingly used as a political symbol. "With this law, we are defending
pupils against a potential fundamentalist influence" she said.

Christian and Jewish symbols are not included in the ban.

Ms. Hohlmeier said these symbols reflected cultural values. The plans are
similar to a draft law unveiled in neighboring Baden-Wuerttemberg last
month. They follow a controversial ruling in September in Germany's highest
court.

"The issue of conspicuous display of religious garb cuts right at the heart
of religious rights," commented Institute President Joseph K. Grieboski.
"To a Jewish man the kippa is a means to draw out one's inner sense of
respect for God, to remind Jews of God, who is the Higher Authority 'above
us' (Kiddushin 31a). External actions create internal awareness; wearing a
symbolic, tangible 'something above us' reinforces that idea that God is
always watching."

"Crosses and crucifixes in Christian theology are used to inculcate lessons
of piety, are concerned with the order of ideas, and serve as a simple
physical reminder of the presence of God in our lives," continued Mr.
Grieboski. "In Islam, the headscarf is 'meant to elevate the status of the
Muslim woman by preserving her dignity and honor.Islam has been preserving
the correct and proper dress code, not only for ladies, but for men as well.
In addition to defining the proper attire for the sexes, Islam also
carefully instructs both men and women on how to behave toward each other.
For instance the Qur'an states in surat An-Nur in verses 30 and 31 exactly
how to act in the presence of the opposite sex: 'Tell the believing men to
lower their gaze.' And then 'Tell the believing women to lower their
gaze..'"

"While the integrity to faith of the wearing of religious garb differs among
the three main monotheistic faiths, there is no question as to its integrity
to the question of a person's religious rights," Mr. Grieboski continued.
"The governments of France and Germany are impeding the very free expression
of religious beliefs at the heart of a democratic system and beginning down
a very slippery slope, worsened by the arbitrary distinctions made between
public and private by the state."