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INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 005291 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KISL GM
SUBJECT: Headscarf Laws Withstand Challenge in Germany 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified; not for internet distribution. 
 
¶1. Summary:  The Hesse State Constitutional Court upheld a state law 
last week that prohibits civil servants from wearing religious 
symbols and attire.  One of eight similar laws in effect in 
Germany's federal states, the law as applied allows state 
institutions to prevent civil servants, including public school 
teachers, from wearing Muslim religious attire such as headscarves 
while making exceptions for Christian symbols.  The verdict can only 
be challenged now by individuals in local courts on the basis of 
whether or not certain forms of attire constitute religious or 
political symbols.  End Summary. 
 
Hesse's Head Scarf Ban 
---------------------- 
 
¶2.  The State of Hesse passed a law in October 2004 prohibiting 
civil servants, including public school teachers, from wearing 
symbols or attire that express a religious or political affiliation. 
 Hesse State Attorney Ute Sacksofsky challenged the law in August 
2007 arguing that it discriminated against head-scarf wearers by 
violating their religious freedom, their right to hold public 
office, and their right to equal treatment under the law.  On 
December 11, the court ruled against the challenge, arguing that the 
law does not mention the head scarf in particular and applies to all 
religious symbols and attire which suggest that civil servants are 
not entirely "neutral" in the eyes of the law (meaning ones that 
show a religious or political affiliation). 
 
¶3.  According to the law, the ultimate decision on which religious 
symbols and attire are permitted is left up to the administrator of 
each institution.  Moreover, these decisions have to take into 
consideration "the Christian and Western tradition of Hesse," which 
creates a large loophole for certain symbols.  Hesse Commissioner 
for Foreigners, Hans-Achim Michna, told Pol Specialist that in 
practice both Jewish and Christian symbols would be allowed. 
Sacksofsky challenged the loophole, saying that the law did not 
treat religions equally, and applied a privileged status to 
Christianity.  Going forward, the law can only be challenged on a 
case-by-case basis by individuals in local courts. 
 
The Head Scarf and the Election 
------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  At the time of its passage in 2004, the law was supported by an 
absolute majority of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in the 
state parliament over strong objections from the Free Democratic 
Party (FDP), the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens.  The 
CDU has characterized the court's decision upholding the law as a 
political victory.  Notably, the six judges originally nominated by 
the CDU and the FDP formed the majority who rejected Sacksofsky's 
challenge, while the five nominated by the SPD and the Greens 
supported it. 
 
¶5.  In a debate in the state parliament after the court's ruling, 
CDU majority leader Christean Wagner called the decision a great 
success for the party, which faces re-election on January 27, 2008, 
and hopes to form a coalition with the FDP.  Wagner asserted that 
Germany was a country with a Christian heritage, and that therefore 
these symbols convey values independent of faith.  In an interview 
with Focus magazine December 16, Hesse Minister President Roland 
Koch (CDU) called for the banning of full-body coverings (so-called 
burkhas) worn by Muslim schoolchildren, although few, if any, Muslim 
schoolchildren wear such attire.  Nancy Faeser (SPD) criticized the 
court's decision, saying that it opened up the possibility of 
numerous legal challenges in local courts and left individuals at 
the mercy of their supervisors with no legal protection. 
 
Head Scarf Bans in Other States 
------------------------------- 
 
¶6.  Eight of the sixteen federal states have passed head scarf bans 
for civil servants since 2004: Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Lower 
Saxony, Saarland, Bavaria, Berlin, Bremen and North-Rhine Westphalia 
(NRW).  State parliaments in Brandenburg and Rheinland-Pfalz are 
currently considering such legislation.  The six states with no bans 
or proposed legislation (Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, 
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Sachsen-Anhalt and Thuringia) are 
areas where fewer Muslims live, with the notable exception of 
Hamburg. 
 
¶7.  In NRW, the law has faced repeated challenges, but has been 
confirmed on four separate occasions in various courts.  Most 
recently, in an August 14, 2007 decision, the Duesseldorf 
Administrative Court determined that the headscarf was a 
"demonstrative" religious symbol, violating NRW school law which 
declares such "religious manifestations" at state-run schools 
illegal.  The complainant announced she will appeal the court 
decision, indicating that if her plea were to be rejected also by 
the Higher Administrative Court in Muenster and the Federal 
Administrative Court in Leipzig, she would file a constitutional 
 
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complaint with the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe. 
 
¶8.  Just a few weeks before the August decision, on June 29, 2007, a 
Duesseldorf court ruled that teachers in NRW could not wear any head 
covering or hat that acts as a surrogate for the headscarf.  A 
teacher who had previously sued to be able to wear her headscarf was 
trying to get around a ruling that forbids the wearing of 
headscarves in schools by wearing a type of beret, which covered her 
ears and hair.  The court disallowed this. 
 
¶9. Comment:  The ruling in Hesse continues the questionable 
precedent that head scarf laws set in state constitutional law by 
seemingly holding Christian and Muslim symbols and traditions to 
different standards and strengthening the impression of 
discrimination against Islam in Germany.  Civil servants in Hesse 
are left in an ambiguous position, heavily dependent on the 
willingness of their superiors to allow them to wear their 
traditional symbols and dress.  The question is highly politicized 
in the state and will undoubtedly be exploited by both sides in next 
month's election campaign.  END COMMENT. 
 
¶10.  This message was coordinated with Embassy Berlin and ConGen 
Duesseldorf. 
POWELL