By: IBRAHIM Jaafar
Austrian MPs have approved a law aimed at banning the headscarf in primary schools, a measure proposed by the ruling rightwing government.
The text refers to any “ideologically or religiously influenced clothing which is associated with the covering of the head”.
Representatives of both parts of the governing coalition, the centre-right People’s party (ÖVP) and the far-right Freedom party (FPÖ), have made it clear that despite its wide description, the law is targeted at the Islamic headscarf.
The FPÖ education spokesman, Wendelin Mölzer, said the law was “a signal against political Islam”.
The government said the patka head covering worn by Sikh boys and the Jewish kippa would not be affected. Medical bandages and protection from rain or snow are also not covered by the law approved on Wednesday.
Austria’s official Muslim community organisation, IGGÖ, has condemned the proposals as “shameless” and a “direct assault on the religious freedom of Austrian Muslims”. The organisation has signalled that it will seek to challenge the validity of the law at Austria’s constitutional court.
The government has already said it expects the law to face legal challenges, since similar legislation affecting schools is normally passed with a two-thirds majority. In this instance almost all opposition MPs voted against the measure, with some accusing the government of focusing on garnering positive headlines rather than child welfare.
Denmark enacted a ban on the wearing of face veils in public in 2018, joining other EU countries including France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Bulgaria, and the German state of Bavaria.
The question remains: where is the so called freedom of religion that these people keeps claiming to be its custodian? When a law is directed against a group of people just because they were the minority, isn't that an unjust law? Sean Augustine was quoted to have said: "an unjust law is no law at all", thus this kinda law is only an aggression against the Austria Muslims minority.