SHAFAQNA – Russia’s Supreme Court has upheld a ban on Islamic headdress for female Muslim students at schools across the Republic of Mordovia. The Supreme Court rejected in its verdict a formal complaint by Mordovia’s Muslim community, which insisted that the prohibition of the religious headdress or hijab at schools contradicted the constitutional principle of freedom of conscience.
Mordovia hijab ban has triggered protest rallies by Muslim people and the clergy at regional and federal levels, according to an RT report.
The leader of Mordovian Muslims, Fagim Shafiyev, meanwhile, has appealed the case to Russian prosecutors, calling for the reversal of the decision adopted by the republic’s government.
Additionally, Grand Mufti Ravil Gainutdin forwarded a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to support the right of female Muslims to observe the religiously-required hijab at schools and universities.
However, the Mordovian government order banned not only the hijab, but any other clear display of religious attributes.
The Russian judge, meanwhile, claimed in his ruling that the ban on wearing the hijab at schools did not prevent Muslims from believing in God.
In July 2014, Russia’s Supreme Court also upheld a hijab ban at schools of the southern Stavropol region.
President Putin opposed the wearing of hijab at schools in 2012, saying Russia is a secular state.
Source : Press TV