The Oklahoma chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations CAIR) has joined other groups concerning the constitutionally protected right to religious freedom, and an Oklahoma bill that bans religious headwear in driver’s licenses and other photo identification cards. The bill passed in Oklahoma in March, however, the Oklahoma legislature dropped the proposed bill citing its…
The Council of State, Belgium’s top administrative court, ruled that schools may ban girls from wearing the Muslim headscarf or hijab. The court argued that a ban on the garment is not discriminatory, but rather, reinforced principals of equality and solidarity. While the ruling does not argue for a mandatory ban, it gives Belgian schools…
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York, will review a ban on respected Swiss Muslim academic and scholar Tariq Ramadan, who was forbidden from entering the United States in 2004 and beginning an appointment at the University of Notre Dame. The Bush Administration prevented him from entering the US,…
In their most recent report on the issue, Human Rights Watch reveals that German state bans on religious symbols and clothing for teachers and other civil servants discriminate against Muslim women who wear the headscarf. This 67-page report, “Discrimination in the Name of Neutrality: Headscarf Bans for Teachers and Civil Servants in Germany,” is based…
Foreign foods such as kebabs are being kicked out of Italian cities as it becomes the target of a campaign against ethnic food, backed by the center-right government of Silvio Berlusconi. In the town of Lucca, the council recently banned new ethnic food outlets from operating within the city walls. In Lombardy and its regional…
