The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today said a vote in Austria to ban Islamic headscarves, or hijab, in schools for girls under the age of 14 violates religious freedom and will only serve to marginalize the Muslim community in that nation.
In August, CAIR condemned the proposed ban as “discriminatory and authoritarian.”
CAIR has repeatedly condemned growing Islamophobia in Europe.
In a statement, CAIR said:
“Austria’s decision to ban the hijab for young Muslim girls is an unacceptable intrusion into personal religious practice and a clear violation of fundamental human rights. Rather than promoting equality or protecting children, this ban singles out one religious community for state-sanctioned discrimination. Measures like this only serve to marginalize Muslims, deepen social divisions, embolden extremists, and send a harmful message to Muslim children that their faith is unwelcome in public life.
“We call on Austrian courts to reverse this discriminatory policy and to uphold the principles of religious freedom, equality, and inclusion. We also urge international human rights organizations and European partners to speak out against this troubling trend and to support Muslim communities who are being targeted by repressive legislation.”
Yesterday, CAIR expressed solidarity with the German Muslim community after two mosques in the city of Hannover were targeted graffiti apparently in support of Israeli military, which carried out a genocide in Gaza.
Earlier this year, CAIR said that Islamophobia is “spinning out of control” in Europe after a Muslim woman was murdered in Germany and a mosque was burned during anti-immigrant riots in Spain.
Washington, D.C., based CAIR reaffirmed its solidarity with Muslim communities in Austria and Europe and urged international human rights bodies to scrutinize and oppose efforts that curtail religious expression under the pretext of social policy.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com