The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today called on the State Department to urge the government of Azerbaijan to reverse its ban on students and staff from wearing the hijab in schools.
The law approved last month stopped short of explicitly banning the Muslim headscarf but barred clothing in schools that the government said violates the “principle of secularism.” The law sparked protests as some teachers and students were barred from attending classes.
SEE: Azerbaijan’s school hijab ban: What’s behind it, and what’s next?
In a statement, CAIR said:
“Religious freedom is a bedrock principle of international law that every member of the United Nations has pledged to uphold. Banning Muslim teachers and students from attending public school unless they remove their hijabs is a persistent threat to religious freedom in several European countries and several former Soviet states, now including Azerbaijan.
“We stand in solidarity with Muslim teachers, students and families in Azerbaijan and we strongly condemn the government’s bigoted and fascist hijab ban. Banning Muslim teachers and students from public school if they wear hijab represents an attack on not only the Muslim community, but the basic principle of religious freedom.
“Countries that claim to uphold religious freedom must permit teachers and students to wear clothing and symbols associated with their faith, whether a hijab, a cross, a kippa, or a turban–or decline to wear such clothing. We call on the State Department to urge Azerbaijan to reverse its hijab ban and guarantee religious freedom to all.”
END
CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]