Chancellor Speaks Against Government Employees Wearing Hijab

December 22, 2003

Source: The Scotsman

http://www.news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1400842003

On December 22, 2003 The Scotsman reported, "Chancellor Gerhard Schröder yesterday came out against allowing teachers in public schools to wear headscarves, saying in an interview that the Islamic dress has 'no place' among civil servants...Until now, the German chancellor has not commented on the issue, but in an interview published yesterday in Bild am Sonntag, Mr. Schröder said Germany is a secular state and therefore its employees should not wear religious symbols while on the job...He added that the secular state was influenced by three great traditions - Greco-Roman philosophy, Judeo-Christian religion and the heritage of the Enlightenment."