Hijab

Turkey to decide on head scarf ban

Turkey's Constitutional Court is expected to rule Thursday on an opposition motion to keep Muslim head scarves off university campuses - a ruling that could hold ominous portents for the Islamic-oriented government.

The court judges were assembled to consider the case. Some Turkish commentators predicted the court would deliver a decision against the government and uphold the ban on head scarves in universities.

Many see the head scarf as an emblem of political Islam, and consider any attempt to allow it in schools as an attack against modern Turkey's secular laws.

Such a decision to uphold the head scarf ban could indicate the court will also rule against the government in a separate case calling for the ruling party to be closed for allegedly abandoning Turkey's secular principles.

The issue is an explosive one in Turkey, where the government is locked in a power struggle with secular groups that have support from the military and other state institutions.

Some observers believe the court will say head scarves cannot be allowed in universities unless constitutional articles related to secularism are amended. Such a decision would signal defeat for the government, as it would face vigorous opposition if it sought to change the concept of secularism in modern Turkey.

"I don't think that the court will rule any differently than it did in 1989. It will not open the doors to head scarves," said Ali Tekin, a lecturer at Ankara's Bilkent University, referring to a previous ruling upholding the ban. At the time, the court ruled that the head scarves violated secularism.

A ruling upholding the ban would give "a strong negative indication concerning the (ruling) party's closure," Tekin said Wednesday.

Turkey's chief prosecutor is seeking to disband Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party on grounds that it is "the focal point of anti-secular activities." He has cited attempts to allow head scarves at universities as a case in point.

In February, Parliament passed constitutional amendments to allow head scarves to be worn at universities - but not in schools or state offices. Those who pushed the amendments argued that wearing a head scarf was a matter of free expression and religious freedom.

The secular opposition immediately appealed the ruling to the top court.

(Published by AP - june 5, 2008)