Muslim Teacher Against Headdress

A 32-year-old Amsterdam Muslim is challenging the decision by an Islamic school not to employ her because she refuses to wear a headscarf.

Samira Haddad, a teacher of Arabic, has asked the equality commission to rule Islamic College in Amsterdam was wrong to demand she cover her head in order to work there

The full story

I read "Reading Lolita in Tehran" last year and one of the stories that struck me was the author's mother, who was a devout Muslim. When head coverings were banned she was against that as she wanted to wear a hajib, as a demonstration of her faith. She was equally AGAINST the law that head coverings were compulsory as it meant that her act was no longer a demonstration of faith and something to be proud of, but merely following a regulation.

This case reminds me of that a little, in that it's about women making choices within Islam.

The school holds wearing a head covering is specified for women in the Koran and therefore is required of muslim women teachers (non muslims can be exempt). The teacher says it isn't required in the Koran and points out that she's studied at an islamic school and worked in many muslim countries without wearing a headscarf and without having a problem. If she weren't Muslim they'd hire her.

So a theological difference of opinion relating to Islam, will now be resolved in a western court applying rules of discrimination. It's enough to make your head spin.

For more detail on some of the current issues in the Netherlands, yesterday's article in the International Herald Tribune is a good read.

Burqa Ban

Verdonk Seeks a Ban on the Burqa (10 October 2005)
Rita Verdonk, Minister of Foreigner Affairs and Integration will investigate the possibility of banning the use of a burqa in specific situations. According to the minister a general, nationwide ban is not possible.

Why? I'm no fan of the Burqa, but I've lived here since 1998 and have yet to see a woman wearing one. There are many muslim women in Amsterdam, mostly from Turkey and Morrocco, and mostly they wear a headcovering that doesn't cover the face. Rarely have I seen a woman wearing something that covered the mouth, and I've never seen a woman wearing one that covers her eyes in any way.

So why waste time discussing this in parliament? I have two theories:
(1) The Red Herring. While we and the press are distracted with this nonsense item something else is being passed.
(2) The Bait and Switch. Proposing an extreme action, watching us overreact, then backing down to a more modest proposal that is allowed to pass.

I'm going with theory 2, Verdonk has used this before, for example her initial far reaching proposals for all immigrants to go through an integration course regardless of time spent in the Netherlands or whether they held Dutch citizenship. She came undone because the EU laws regarding freedom of movement.

I'm waiting to see what her real intent is.

Because I live here...

I started blogging about Amsterdam in a 5 streets blog, it's fun, but it's also very safe, pointing out the nice pretty things of Amsterdam. This blog is destined to be more opinionated.

I love living here, that doesn't mean I love everthing about living here... so you'll hear about some of the nonsense that affects people who live here, which would never be noticed by a tourist.