French Court Upholds Ban on Muslim Abayas in Schools, Cites No Harm

France's top administrative court, the State Council, has upheld the government's ban on traditional over-garments worn by some Muslim women in schools, including the abaya and the qamis for men, rejecting complaints that the ban was discriminatory and could incite hatred. The ban was announced by President Emmanuel Macron's government last month, citing a violation of secularism in education.

Muslim headscarves were already banned in schools on the grounds that they displayed religious affiliation. The Action for the Rights of Muslims (ADM), an association representing Muslims, filed a motion with the State Council, arguing that the ban was discriminatory and could lead to hatred against Muslims and racial profiling.

However, after a two-day examination of the motion, the State Council ruled against these arguments. It stated that wearing the abaya "follows the logic of religious affirmation" and based its decision on French law, which prohibits the display of visible signs of religious affiliation in schools. The court concluded that the ban did not cause "serious or obviously illegal harm to the respect for personal lives, freedom of religion, the right to education, the well-being of children, or the principle of non-discrimination."

France's Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) had cautioned that the ban on the abaya could result in an "elevated risk of discrimination" and expressed concerns about the lack of a clear definition of the garment, leading to legal ambiguity.

ADM's lawyer, Vincent Brengarth, argued during the court hearing that the abaya should be considered a traditional garment rather than a religious one. He also accused the government of pursuing political motives with the ban.

The education ministry defended the ban, asserting that the abaya made its wearers "immediately recognizable as belonging to the Muslim religion," which ran counter to France's secular culture.

Despite the ban, nearly 300 schoolgirls defied the rules on the first day of the school year, with 67 of them refusing to change garments and subsequently being sent home. This issue is part of a broader debate in France about secularism, religious freedom, and the integration of its Muslim population, which makes up about 10% of the country's 67 million inhabitants, primarily with origins in North African countries.

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