Pro-hijab Campaign in EU Parliament
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“The right to wear hijab must be put on the European parliament agenda,” Lucas |
By Hany Bishr, IOL Correspondent
LONDON, September 24 (IslamOnline.net) – In an effort to contain the French
hijab-ban law and halt it from extending to more European states, human
rights activists and EU parliament members embarked on a campaign aimed at
issuing a declaration demanding EU countries to respect the freedom of faith
and dressing.
Meeting in
The meeting was attended by members of the European parliament and human
rights activists from several European countries including
The meeting was also joined by pro-hijab representatives of human rights
groups such as the Paris-based “March 15 Gathering and Freedom”,
Belgium-based “Liberal Women Union for Equal Rights”, in addition to the EU
archbishops conference committee president.
The attendees probed introducing amendments to the draft declaration,
focusing the right to believe or dress without hurting others, before
referring it to the European parliament for endorsement in January 2005.
Parliamentary Support
The draft declaration needs the support of around 380 members of the
European parliament to put it into force.
“The endorsement of the European parliament requires the support of around
380 members during the parliament meeting, slated for January 2005," Abeer
Pharaon, chairwoman of the Muslim woman society in
She called on all Muslim citizens to send messages to EU parliament members
over the coming period urging them to support the draft declaration.
The pro-hijab coordinator said the campaign website comprises a copy of
suggested messages to the EU parliament members as well as their addresses.
Hijab has taken central stage recently in several European countries,
especially after France banned it in state-run schools and public
institutions.
The US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the French move is
“discriminatory”.
Islam sees hijab as
an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol displaying
one’s affiliations – unlike the symbolic Christian crucifixes or Jewish
Kappas.
Islamophobia
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Abeer Pharaon, a pro-hijab Muslim activist |
Some EU parliament members urged the European parliament to discuss the
issue of hijab for avoiding any human rights violations in
“The right to wear hijab must be put on the European parliament agenda to
avoid the enactment of more hijab-banning laws in other European countries,
a matter that threatens human rights in Europe,” Caroline Lucas, EU
parliament member told IOL.
She urged the European politicians to raise human rights awareness and
tackle the rising Islamophobia in the European countries.
“This would help change misleading stereotypes in the press on Islam and
Muslims.”
Addressing the meeting, Alan Lebleigez, EU parliament member representing
“The issue of freedom to wear hijab must be part of the campaign.”
He said Islamophobia in the west has been rising since the September attacks
on
“Islamophobia has always been in the west even before the September attacks
on the United States but it has been rising since.”
Mofeda Ben Yeglen, representative of Liberal Women Union for Equal Rights in
Source: IslamOnline.net