Court Upholds Headscarf Laws

Germany's Federal Administrative Court on Thursday upheld a law banning the wearing of headscarves in public schools. The ruling rejected an appeal by a Muslim teacher in the southern German state of Baden Württemberg who had argued that the law impinged upon her religious rights. In April, the state government in Stuttgart enacted a law forbidding headscarves in its schools. Afghan-born Fereshda Ludin had previously taken her case to Germany's highest court, the Federal Constitutional Court. The Karlsruhe-based court upheld her right to wear a headscarf, but the judges also gave states the right to pass laws banning headscarves, a move promptly taken by Baden Württemberg and a handful of other states, which argued the hijab violated the state's religious neutrality.