Kosovo Bans Islamic Headscarf and Religious Instruction in Public Schools | The Weekly Standard

Kosovo Bans Islamic Headscarf and Religious Instruction in Public Schools | The Weekly Standard

Kosovo Bans Islamic Headscarf and Religious Instruction in Public Schools

2:01 PM, Sep 7, 2011 • By STEPHEN SCHWARTZ

       

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In Muslim-majority Kosovo last week, as the fasting month of Ramadan came to an end and families prepared for the reopening of public schools, the parliamentary Assembly of the Republic rendered its judgment on a controversy that has agitated the country for more than a year: It voted not to permit the Islamic headscarf (hijab) or any religious instruction in public schools.

The August 29 vote rejected two amendments to the Kosovo Constitution on pre-university education. Amendment 7 would have prohibited “discrimination against Muslims in school,” and was viewed as a measure favoring girls wearing the headscarf. It failed 43 to 39. Amendment 8 would have introduced religious education in the public schools, a proposition discussed in Kosovo since the end of the 1998-99 war. It was voted down 64 to18.