A school in Lower Saxony prohibits head coverings in its school rules – exceptions must be requested. This also includes headscarves. After the corresponding letter from Lindenschule Buer circulated online, the school even received a bomb threat.
‘Dear parents, our school rules stipulate that no head coverings may be worn when entering the school building and in all enclosed spaces. This also includes hats, caps and headscarves,’ states the letter from Lindenschule Buer, a primary and secondary school in Melle.
It adds: ‘Exceptions are of course possible, but must be requested from the school management.’ Other media outlets, including NDR and Nius, had previously reported on the matter.
After the matter became known, the mayor, the town of Melle and the Ministry of Culture intervened.
Ulrich Schubert, spokesperson for the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs, wrote in response to an enquiry from the BILD newspaper: ‘From a legal perspective, the wearing of headscarves by schoolgirls or teachers is fundamentally permissible as an expression of their religious practice, which is protected by Article 4 of the German Constitution. This fundamental right (protection of religious freedom, ed.) may not be prohibited by a school, either through school regulations or individual instructions.’ Full veiling, on the other hand, is ‘impermissible’ for both pupils and teachers.
In a statement issued by the town of Melle, Mayor Jutta Dettmann said she was ‘very surprised and irritated’ when she learned of the school’s letter to parents.
‘Our urban society is colourful and diverse, and that includes the free practice of religious freedom,’ said Dettmann. The school rules are now to be revised. In future, ‘head coverings for religious or health reasons’ should always be permitted.
Incredible: radicals have now even threatened the school with a bomb because of the headscarf ban! This was confirmed by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs in response to a query from BILD: ‘There was a threat to that effect.’ In addition, ‘in connection with the letter mentioned, there was graffiti with offensive content against the school and the headmistress on the school building.’
Both the threat and the vandalism were reported to the Osnabrück police. They were initially unavailable for comment when contacted by BILD. The Lindenschule itself was also unavailable for comment.