Last Updated on Tuesday, 20 July 2010 19:22 Tuesday, 20 July 2010 17:32

Written by Gin Mang

We live in an era where religious fundamentalism is on the rise around the world. As a result of this tendency, there is a growing concern about public security, and the limit of cultural diversity comes into question among policy makers. While diversity and religious tolerance are equally important issues, the safety and well-being of our community cannot be ignored. Public manifestation of religious identity not only creates division and suspicion but can also be viewed as intimidation within our community. Understandably, a series of controversies have arisen regarding “hijab”, a headscarf worn by some Muslim women in western secular society. Public interest should be considered before personal choices and rights. In view of this, governments should enforce the banning of headscarves in educational institutions and workplaces in secular countries.

One of the most compelling reasons to ban religious dress such as hijab in public schools is because they are institutions for learning, not places for proclaiming religious affiliation. When a student comes to class with their faith identity, other students are likely to be distracted by religious ideology, and they may lose focus on their learning. Moreover, dressing differently than other students may invite prejudice and hatred from those classmates. For example, a student may feel threatened or intimidated by others who belong to a different religion. This could create resentment toward each other. As Duplaix (2004) stated; “Secularism allows us to build on the attributes that unite us, and not those that separate us, and to advance universal concerns while allowing beliefs to remain private and individual” (p.37). Therefore, in public schools, keeping private one’s allegiance to a particular faith is in the best interest of all the students.

It’s also clear that wearing headscarves should be totally banned from public offices in order to prevent misunderstandings between people. Many professions require common standards in the work place, which includes following dress code. For example, a doctor at a public hospital could be very intimidating for a patient if she is wearing a headscarf. A situation such as this could easily be avoided if there is a ban in place. People might also be easily terrified seeing a police officer if she or he wears religious headgear while performing official duties. In any business or public service institutions, customers are always the first priority and wearing a headscarf should not be an exception in this regard. Moreover, many people in a secular society are not familiar with religious garments. This could create communication barriers among employees or with the customers. People wearing hijab might be considered extremists because such manifestation of faith in public implies fundamentalism.

It is important to remember that prohibiting hijab in public schools and public offices doesn’t limit freedom of religion. It should not be confused with a ban on religion. Because a ban on hijab applies only in public institutions, people are free to choose what to wear outside these environments. They are not subjected to repression and discrimination on their faith as they can freely practice their religion. Expression of one’s religion in public institutions could also offend other faiths. It should be noted here that respect for other religions is essential for building a healthy society. Governments must take the lead to prevent a collision between religions. In this regard, Stephen Bigger (2006) points out that, "In France the separation of state from Catholic church provides the seedbed for secularism (p. 218)”. To maintain a secular society, it is high time that governments introduce new regulations to ban headscarves from public institutions.

The opponents of banning headscarves from public life base their arguments on the principle of democracy and human rights. From their point of view, as a professor at the University of Southern California stated, a ban on hijab will imply changing one’s identity (as cited in Coles, 2003, p.14).  Such arguments are rather misleading. What they fail to consider is expressing one’s religious identity in public provokes social disharmony and threatens the rights of others in secular society. Karima Bennoune (2007), an Associate Professor at Rutgers School of Law, states that:

Freedom of belief is absolute in human rights law, while expression of belief is subject to limitation. Such limits must be prescribed by law and necessary to achieve a legitimate aim, such as to protect the rights of others. (p.370)

Needless to say, human rights and democracy should no longer be misinterpreted for personal interest. The rights of others must be respected when exercising individual rights. Another reason given for allowing the wearing of headscarf is to protect Muslim women from harassment. This opinion goes against the fact that people with hijab look different, and they are more identifiable. A Muslim girl in Oxford said that her dress attracted more attention and she was looked at with prejudice and suspicion because of her headscarf (as cited in Bigger, 2006, p.221).

We all have the right to be different. However, public interest and the safety and security of our society must not be compromised by individual rights. As we have witnessed the rise of religious fundamentalism around the world in recent years, the principles of secularism are being threatened. Religious extremists have taken advantage of our tolerance and attempt to hijack the value of democracy and human rights. It is time that governments take action and introduce a new regulation banning headscarves in public institutions.

References

Bennoune, K. (2007). Secularism and human rights: A contextual analysis of headscarves, religious expression, and women’s equality under international law.  Columbia Journal of Transnational Law, 45(2), 367-374.

Bigger, S. (2006). Muslim women’s views on dress code and the hijaab: some issues for education. Journal of Beliefs & Values, 27 (2), 215-221.

Coles, C. (2003). Testing the limit of tolerance. The Futurist, 37(2), 14-15.

Duplaix, T. (2004, February 9). Should France ban headscarves? Time Canada, 163 (6), 36-37.