Quote:
Simon Birks, representing the headteacher and governors, had earlier told the court: "There would also be the risk of division if the jilbab were to be adopted. There could be two classes of people - those who wore the jilbab and those who wore the shalwar kameez, with those wearing the jilbab regarded as 'better Muslims' than those who wore the shalwar kameez."
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Well that's a pile of crap if ever there was one. Who are the school, staff or pupils to comment on what makes a good Muslim/Christian/Jew/whatever? On what knowledge or research can they basis their theory that her wearing a jilbab will "create division" and put judgement on people being "better Muslims"?
Besdies, who is it killing if she does wear it? It's like saying the length of your skirt, or the cut of your blouse makes a judgement on how fashionable you are, and therefore creates division.
Quote:
Muslim girls could wear trousers, skirts or a shalwar kameez, consisting of trousers and a tunic. They relied on the school policy "to resist pressures which could be brought upon them to wear the jilbab", the court was told.
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Secondly they make it sound like such a big favour that they allowed her to wear shalwaar kameez. That isn't even a form of religious dress, it's a kind of outfit that derived from the Indian subcontinent. By wearing that, she's not necessarily expressing her religion, only the fact that she's from the South East Asian ethinic background. Which is nowhere near the same as religion. And why does everyone always automatically assume that it's "pressure" that forces girls to wear headscarfs/jilbabs/anything else. By saying that the girls "relied on school policy to resist pressures which could be brought upon them to wear the jilbab" just falsely indicates that all these poor little Muslim girls who cant think, speak or act for themselves are relying on school rules to salvage them from becoming oppressed women, forced to wear a jilbab. If they want to wear it, they will. If they dont, they wont. It really is that simple.
*sigh*
It just seems to be going round and round in circles. The whole deal in France, now here in the UK too. And it's not the fact that it's just Muslims kicking up a big fuss, which is how it's often perceived. It's not that - it's the principle. Why is it so unacceptable to show your religion in school? As long as you're not harming others by doing so, what is the problem? It's like saying you're not allowed to demonstrate your political beliefs, or personal opinions on anything.
If the school authorities are so concerned about the risk of divison instead of hiding the problem by banning it, why dont they do something proactive and maybe encourage learning about the reasons behind it, and showing that it isnt a threat. How can a piece of cloth be so threatening?
Ignorance leads to misunderstanding, which in turn leads to fear... which finally manifests itself as violence or tension, or in this case, repression. If people just took some time out to learn about issues before screaming about the threat of it, maybe we'd all be in a better place. Or maybe that's just too idealistic.