Britain Upholds School Ban on a Muslim Gown

By SARAH LYALL
Published: March 23, 2006

LONDON, March 22 — Britain's highest court ruled Wednesday that a secondary school was within its rights to bar a female student from wearing a jilbab, a loose, ankle-length gown, instead of the regular school uniform.

Overturning a lower court ruling in favor of the student, Shabina Begum, a five-judge panel in the House of Lords pointed out that the school, Denbigh High School in Luton, had already taken great care to make its uniform acceptable to its students, 79 percent of whom are Muslim.

"The school was entitled to consider that the rules about uniform were necessary for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others," one of the judges, Lord Hoffmann, said in his written opinion.

The issue of what sort of religious dress, if any, is appropriate in state-run schools has become increasingly divisive in Europe, where the wishes of Muslim populations are often at odds with the rules set down by secular governments. In France, the hijab, the head scarf worn by many Muslim girls and women, and other "conspicuous" religious symbols are banned from schools.

more: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/23/international/europe/23dress.html?hp&ex=1143176400&en=efd7c6cea4bb39c4&ei=5094&partner=homepage