Schoolgirl with headscarf © Wolfram Kastl
Girls under 14 should not be allowed to wear headscarves in NRW – that's the NRW state government's plan. At that age, it has nothing to do with religion, argues Minister President Laschet. He faces opposition from educators and lawyers in particular.
NRW Minister President Armin Laschet (CDU) has called on Muslim communities to support his state government's plans to ban headscarves for girls under 14 years of age. "The mosque communities could help here by having every imam explain to families during Friday prayers that girls wearing headscarves has nothing to do with religion," Laschet told the Evangelical Press Service (epd) in Dusseldorf.
The plan by Integration Minister Joachim Stamp (FDP) and Muslim Integration State Secretary Serap Guler (CDU) is justified because many devout Muslims and Islamic theologians have also stressed that the headscarf on children has nothing to do with religion, Laschet said. "To put on the headscarf to children before the religious maturity and before the sexual maturity, I do not think it is necessary."The girls should be able to decide for themselves at some point.
It's not about religious practice
The headscarf is not comparable to baptism or circumcision in infancy, because the wearing of headscarves by children is not about practicing religion, the North Rhine-Westphalian prime minister and deputy CDU chairman stressed. "That's why a ban would have no consequences for religious symbols, such as when a child wears a Christian cross around his or her neck."
The deliberations of the Dusseldorf state government had elicited a divided response. Several teachers' associations and liberal Muslims welcomed the plans, while the elementary school association and comprehensive school principals see no need for action. Lawyers and integration experts question the legality of a ban and call instead for more educational clarification.