Court Ruling on Headscarf Raises New Questions on Ban

UNCLAS FRANKFURT 005016 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/AGS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV KISL GM SUBJECT: Court Ruling on Headscarf Raises New Questions on Ban REF: A) 04 Frankfurt 5675; B) 05 Frankfurt 8529 Sensitive but unclassified; not for internet distribution. ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: On July 7, the Stuttgart Regional Court ruled that public school teacher Doris Graber should be permitted to wear her headscarf in class. While the court recognized that a headscarf violates religious neutrality, it acknowledged that it cannot prohibit a headscarf while allowing Catholic nuns to wear habits at school. The ruling could ultimately lead to the overturn of bans in other locations or to stricter laws banning all religious symbols. Baden-Wuerttemberg (B-W) state officials announced that the state would appeal the verdict. END SUMMARY. Ruling Calls for Equal Treatment -------------- ¶2. (U) As reported in reftels, in April 2004, Baden-Wuerttemberg became the first German state to ban headscarves for teachers in public schools. In February 2006, the B-W state parliament extended the ban to kindergarten teachers as well (ref B). Following implementation of these bans, legal experts raised concerns regarding equal treatment of religions. From their viewpoint, banning religious symbols from classrooms should apply equally to all religious confessions or could constitute discrimination. The latest ruling from the Stuttgart Regional Court emphasizes equal treatment -- consistent with 2004 rulings of the Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig which upheld the ban, but stated that it should apply equally to all religious symbols, including a nun's clothing (ref A). ¶3. (U) In their July 7 decision, the court noted that in a public school setting, Graber's headscarf is a clear violation of the German constitutional principle of religious neutrality. However, the court ruled the state cannot prohibit a Muslim teacher's headscarf while at the same time permitting nuns to wear their traditional habits in a public school (the court cited a case involving 3 nuns in Baden-Baden who were permitted to wear habits). Presiding Judge Michael Schaber called the existing ban "a clear breach of the principles of equal treatment." He also said that a nun's habit is "clearly a religious symbol." Setback to B-W or Victory for Tolerance? -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Although the court called its ruling definitive, B-W Minister President Guenther Oettinger (CDU) announced B-W would appeal the verdict. According to B-W Education Minister Rau, the State will file a complaint with the Higher Administrative Court in Mannheim to permit an appeal. (NOTE: Because the Administrative Court had ruled that an appeal is not permissible, such a complaint is the appropriate legal tool to counter this decision. End Note.) CDU caucus chief Stefan Mappus publicly criticized the verdict, opining that unlike the headscarf, the Catholic habit does not represent the repression of women. Chairman of the B-W teachers' union (GEW) Rainer Dahlem welcomed the verdict as a victory for tolerance. Christian Storr, who heads the B-W state office that handles foreigner issues, told us he expects the Mannheim court to grant the government's request for an appeal. According to Storr, there have been no protests from parents or complaints about Graber's headscarf. COMMENT -------------- ¶5. (SBU) B-W's current headscarf ban grants exceptions for Christian and Jewish symbols, citing Baden-Wuerttemberg's Christian and Jewish heritage. The question of equal treatment for religions, guaranteed by the German federal constitution, and whether headscarf bans violate that principle may ultimately be decided in the German Federal Constitutional Court. The B-W state leadership is intent on maintaining the headscarf ban while permitting Christian and Jewish symbols. One thing all sides agree on is that they expect years of legal wrangling over this contentious issue. END COMMENT. ¶6. (U) This Cable was coordinated with Embassy Berlin and Consulate General Leipzig. PASI