Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Teresa Heinz Kerry is a millionaire philanthropist and a popular public speaker for her husband's presidential campaign. Now she can add scarf designer to her resume. Heinz Kerry has been draping a new red, white and blue silk scarf around her neck that she helped design for her husband's campaign. The scarf is covered with little flags and her husband's initials and says "John Kerry for President 2004" in script at the bottom. Heinz Kerry worked on the design with professionals at Vineyard Vines in Greenwich, Conn. Vineyard Vines spokeswoman Demi Wasilko said Kerry usually wears the...

France's Assemblée nationale (Parliament) has voted to ban headscarves from schools. Announcer noted that it passed by a wide margin. After all the talk and debate, it's official now.

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) - A leading Islamic authority said that Muslim girls should respect the ban on head scarves in France's state schools, boosting a French proposal to prohibit conspicuous religious symbols from schools. The wearing of "hijab," or head scarf in Arabic, is a religious duty, said the grand sheik of Al-Azhar, "but if a Muslim woman lives in a country where laws do not permit hijab, then she has to comply with those laws." Grand Sheik Mohammed Sayed Tantawi spoke to reporters after talks with French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. Tantawi's Al-Azhar is the most prestigious theological institute...

Iran urges French scarf rethink Iran's president is one of many leaders to oppose the ban Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has called on France to review its proposed ban on overt religious signs, such as headscarves, in schools. "I hope the French Government, which claims to be avant-garde in liberty, equality and fraternity, will cancel this wrong decision," he said. He told reporters that banning the headscarf would be "a kind of extreme nationalistic tendency". French President Jacques Chirac gave his support for the ban last week. Mr Chirac wants the ban, which would also outlaw the Jewish skullcap and...

The government in Germany's biggest state, Bavaria, has prepared a draft law to ban Muslim teachers from wearing headscarves in schools. A Bavarian cabinet minister said the aim was to protect school pupils against fundamentalist influences. The bill is expected to be passed next year in the regional parliament, which is dominated by the Christian Social Union (CSU) party. Bavaria, after Baden-Wuerttemberg, is the second state to propose a ban. Bavarian Education Minister Monika Hohlmeier said the headscarf was increasingly used as a political symbol. "With this law, we are defending pupils against a potential fundamentalist influence and are respecting...

France`s justice minister orders court near Paris to replace a female juror for wearing a headscarf (Reuters)

LYON, France, Jul 12, 2003 (AP Online via COMTEX) -- A court has ruled that a French civil servant who wore an Islamic headscarf on the job committed a "particularly serious offense" and may face disciplinary action because she violated the separation of church and state. Nadjet ben Abdallah, a 33-year-old work inspector in the central city of Lyon, had argued that a disciplinary committee's decision to sanction her for wearing the headscarf at work was unjust. The administrative court in Lyon disagreed and in a decision released Friday, the court said the woman was wrong to go to...

Support Muslim women: wear a scarf for a day November 13 2002 at 12:42PM Brisbane - Women across Australia are being urged to show their support for Muslims by wearing a head scarf for a day. The November 29 campaign was dreamed up by Canberra resident Avigail Abarbanel in response to harassment of Muslim women in Sydney and intelligence raids on the homes of Muslims nationwide. "There is no rally to attend, no money to donate - all you have to do is put on a scarf for the day," Abarbanel, who is Jewish and served in the Israeli army,...