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November 10, 2005

EU: Turkish Ban on Muslim Headscarves is Legal

Today, the European Court in Strasbourg quashed an appeal by Leyla Sahin, a Turkish woman, which sought to revoke the national ban on wearing the hijab, or Muslim headscarf, in Turkey's universities.

According to Swiss Info, the Grand Chamber, which is essentially the last port of call for appeals, stated that the notion of secularism in Turkey, which seeks to join the EU, was in keeping with the values underpinning the European Convention on Human Rights.

Leyla Sahin had been barred from attending Istanbul University's medical school in 1998, because by wearing the hijab, she violated the university's dress code.

A court spokesperson said that "there is no possibility of further appeal now."

The ruling reinforced the secular position of Turkey's establishment, which includes the military General Staff (who in the past have dissolved governments for being non-secular) judges and university rectors.

The ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party) which is headed by Erdogan, and has tried to relax the country's secularist constitution, was not so pleased. Recep Tayyip Erdogan has made no comment, though he was formerly barred from power in the 2002 elections following a conviction for inciting religious hatred. His desire to make Turkey less secular and more Islamic are detailed in our Special Report

The foreign minister, Abdullah Gul (pictured), who was briefly made Prime Minister in the 2002 elections, stated: "Turkey cannot move forward with such bans." He hinted that this was not the last word, and that his government still intends to relax the ban on headscarves. "This ruling does not mean that such restrictions should continue," he said.

The BBC noted that the court had said that in a society where men and women are equal, a ban on religious attire such as a hijab was justified on university premises.

The ruling by the court included the following statement: "The court did not lose sight of the fact that there were extremist political movements in Turkey which sought to impose on society as a whole their religious symbols and conception of a society founded on religious precepts".

Leyla Sahin does not even live in Turkey any more. She is in Vienna. She had argued that the ban violated her right to study and discriminated against her for her religious belief.

Keywords: Hijab, Hidjab, Burka, Burqa

Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 10, 2005 5:10 PM

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