Top French court upholds ban on Muslim abaya robes in schools

Paris, The Gulf Observer: France’s top administrative court has upheld a government ban on traditional over-garments worn by some Muslim women in schools and rejected complaints it was discriminatory and could incite hatred.

The court ruled that a school ban on abayas is legal on Thursday.

President Emmanuel Macron’s government announced last month it was banning the abaya in schools as it broke the rules on secularism in education.

Muslim headscarves have already been banned on the grounds that they constitute a display of religious affiliation.

An association representing Muslims filed a motion with the State Council, France’s highest court for complaints against state authorities, for an injunction against the ban on the abaya and the qamis, its equivalent dress for men.

The association said the ban was discriminatory and could incite hatred against Muslims, as well as racial profiling.

But after examining the motion – filed by the Action for the Rights of Muslims (ADM) – for two days, the State Council rejected the arguments.

It said wearing the abaya “follows the logic of religious affirmation”, adding that the decision was based on French law which did not allow anyone wearing visible signs of any religious affiliation in schools.