The Proposed Ban on the Hijab in Danish Schools is an Attack on the Islamic Identity

News:

On the 24th of August, a commission called “The Commission for the forgotten women’s’ struggle” assigned by the Danish government, published nine points to combat what has been coined in Danish politics as “negative social control”. The proposition, that received the most attention and heated debate in Danish media and on social media, was the proposed ban on Islamic headscarves in primary schools. The Danish government have raised the question about a ban on the Hijab in schools for many years, and many segments of the Danish population have adopted the view of the headscarf as a problem. All parties on any side of the political landscape in Denmark are hostile towards Islamic values and family norms.

Comment:

Now, as two weeks have passed, many Muslims have reacted in opposition to this proposal. Lecturers, researchers, experts, school leaders, mayors and councils have criticized the proposition because of the apparent contradiction with the freedoms that the Denmark claim to uphold and base life and society upon. The commission have also been under harsh criticism and scrutiny for the lack of research behind the proposal and for personal issues driving their proposals.

It is no secret, that these people are fueled by hatred and personal vendettas towards Islam and Muslims. The fight against negative social control, which is their mantra, practically means attacking Muslims who raise children and build families according to Islamic values. This in essence means, attacking the Islamic identity, as one of the most important places to form and nurture the Islamic identity is by an upbringing according to the Islamic values.

The commission members are backtracking their stances and quitting the commission after the reaction of Muslims and the intense debates in various media outlets. The Danish politicians, among them the ruling party and other competing parties, are building up to an upcoming election. All the candidates of the major parties have expressed their support for the headscarf ban but are yet to make decisive statements that could amount to a vote in the Danish parliament. Whatever the outcome will be, it is clear as ever, that the Danish government has one line of action against Islam, Muslims, our sanctities, and values. They attack, vilify, and smear the Muslims, and have done so decades. They are reading the terrain in terms of the proposed ban. If it doesn’t look like a sensible thing to pursue at this moment in time, it will be brought up again soon, as it has been before. There is no right-wing and a left-wing as far as views and opinions against Muslims. Their efforts are united against Islam, which is why a continued, united effort from the Muslims is necessary.

It is important not to fall into traps of using personal freedoms and so-called civil rights as explanations for insisting on the Islamic headscarf. To argue by using freedom of religion, or democratic, civil rights is not the correct Islamic way of combating such a proposal, or any matter at all.

Hizb ut Tahrir held a protest on the 3rd of September with a hashtag translating to “Defend the scarf” (hijab), signaling defense of the Islamic headscarf, and will continue an ongoing campaign to take a firm stand against this proposed ban. We call the Muslims to stand firm on the Islamic values and identity, and to unite in a firm stand on the headscarf as an Islamic duty which is non-negotiable.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Younes Piskorczyk