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Man forsøger nu at få EU-parlamentet til at vedtage en resolution som skal
tvinge Frankrig og visse stater i Tyskland til at tillade Hijab i skolerne.


By Ahmad Maher, IOL Staff

CAIRO, February 21, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) - Pro-hijab activists are taking
their case to the European Parliament with a Written Declaration that, if
adopted, would ask European countries to respect the freedom of faith and
dressing.

The much-anticipated Written Declaration will see the light Wednesday,
February 23, in a press conference organized at the Strasbourg-based
European Parliament by the London-based Assembly for the Protection of Hijab
(Protect Hijab).

The event will be co-chaired by MEP Caroline Lucas and a number of her
fellow MEPs.

"We are really grateful to MEP Lucas and her colleagues," Protect Hijab's
coordinator, Abeer Pharaon, told IslamOnline.net on Monday, February 21.

The news conference will also launch a wide-ranging campaign to secure the
signatures of 310 MEPs, half of the pan-Europe legislature members.

A written declaration in the European Parliament is a means for MEPs to make
a political statement on a particular issue.

To become a resolution debated in the Parliament, at least half of the MEPs
must sign within 3 months, otherwise the Written Declaration lapses.

The declaration basically calls for the right to wear hijab, Sikh turban,
Jewish skullcap and Christian cross in state establishments such as schools.

Protect Hijab was founded in 2004 in response to a growing anti-hijab
campaign worldwide.

It has the support of a number of prominent groups such as the Muslim
Association of Britain, National Assembly Against Racism, the Federation of
Islamic Organizations in Europe and the human rights group Liberty.

Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol
displaying one's affiliations.



(Nu kan islam åbenbart også "se", - der er dog mange muslimer som "ser"
anderledes på sagen)


............................


Asked whether there are hopes that the European Parliament would ratify this
declaration, Pharaon said it is not a "mission impossible" but rather "a
very difficult one".

"In the past, 161 written declarations on different issues were presented to
the parliament and only six had been adopted.

"If we mange to get 160 signatures, this will be a great achievement. But I
can't give any estimates about the expected number of signatures for the
time being.Maybe one month from now," she added.

Pharaon, nevertheless, firmly believes that where there is a will there is a
way.

"Toward that end, Protect Hijab will launch letters campaign across Europe
to get much-needed support from MEPs and lobby with other rights groups for
the crucial coming three months," she added.

"We met on Saturday representatives of the Federation of the Islamic
Organizations in Europe, who voiced their support to our efforts to put
pressure on MEPs."

Lucas's office will send Monday a torrent of support-emails to the entire
MEPs.

"So, we put pressure on them from bottom to top," Pharaon said.

She confirmed that Protect Hijab will hold a press conference with Mayor of
London Ken Livingstone on March 15.

"This conference is aimed at supporting the written declaration, marking the
French ban on hijab and announcing the Protect Hijab as an NGO."

Binding

Pharaon said that the countries concerned, like France and Germany, must
comply with the declaration, if adopted by the parliament.

"They have a duty to do it. The European Commission is obliged to discuss
the declaration and provide means of implement it."

Hijab has taken central stage in several European countries, especially
after France banned it in state-run schools and public institutions.

The US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) lambasted the French move as
"discriminatory".



........................................



Skriftlig erklæring om religiøse rettigheder og friheder i Frankrig og hele
Den Europæiske Union

Europa-Parlamentet,

- der henviser til forretningsordenens artikel 116,


1.. der henviser til, at religiøs frihed er en af de mest grundlæggende og
dyrebare friheder, der forsvares af Den Europæiske Union;


2.. der er oprørt over den tiltagende religiøst begrundede vold i mange
europæiske lande, navnlig siden den 11. september 2001;


3.. der er dybt bekymret over det franske forbud mod at bære, hvad der
anses for at være "synlige religiøse symboler" i skolerne;


4.. der mener, at dette forbud mod det kristne kors, den jødiske kalot,
den muslimske hijab og den sikhiske turban er en krænkelse af
menneskerettighederne, navnlig artikel 9 i den europæiske
menneskerettighedskonvention;


5.. der mener, at ligestilling mellem kønnene er en grundlæggende
rettighed, og på ny fastholder, at mænd og kvinder har ret til at klæde sig,
som de vil;
(Det var dog en morsom konklusion: lige rettigheder - derfor skal kvinder
bære hijab i klasselokalet)



1.. opfordrer medlemsstaterne til, specielt i uddannelses- og andre
statsinstitutioner, at tillade diskrete synlige tegn på den enkeltes tro;


2.. opfordrer kraftigt den franske regering til at genoverveje dens forbud
og undersøge, hvordan såvel religiøse som racemæssige minoriteters
muligheder for i højere grad at integrere sig i det franske samfund
forbedres, bl.a. gennem bekæmpelse af religiøs diskrimination;


3.. mener, at dette emne bør drøftes i Europa-Parlamentet;


4.. pålægger sin formand at sende denne erklæring med angivelse af
underskrivernes navne til Kommissionen, Rådet og medlemsstaternes
regeringer.