by: Wendy Zeldin  On April 4, 2011, the Haarlem district court ruled that a ban on headscarves imposed by Don Bosco high school, a Catholic institution in the town of Volendam, was legal. According to the court decision, the ban is consistent with the school's religious principles and its desire to uphold its Catholic character.

The judge held, moreover, that the prohibition against headscarves does not constitute religious discrimination, given that hats and similar attire are also not allowed, nor does the ban restrict freedom of speech. 

(Global Legal Monitor, Nicole Atwill) On March 3, 2011, a circular implementing Law 2010-1192 on Prohibiting the Wearing of Clothing Concealing One's Face in Public Spaces was published in France's Official Gazette (Circulaire du 2 mars 2011 relative à la mise en œuvre de la loi no. 2010-1192 du 11 octobre 2010 interdisant la dissimulation du visage dans l'espace public, Legifrance online database). This prohibition is to take effect on April 11, 2011. (See Nicole Atwill, France: Law Prohibiting the Wearing of Clothing Concealing One's Face in Public Spaces Found Constitutional, GLOBAL LEGAL MONITOR (Oct. 18, 2010).)

The circular restates the provision that "concealing one's face infringes upon the minimum requirements of life in society. In addition, it places the concerned individuals in a situation of exclusion and inferiority incompatible with the principles of liberty, equality, and human dignity affirmed by the French Republic." (Circulaire, supra.)

by Viv Smith

The campaign to defend multiculturalism and oppose Islamophobia stepped up a gear last week as hundreds of people came together in London to discuss the way forward.

The meeting followed the launch of a petition in response to David Cameron’s disgraceful attack on multiculturalism. More than 5,500 people have signed the petition.

Cameron—faced with growing anger at Tory cuts and pressure from the right inside his own party—is sinking into the gutter politics of racist scapegoating. In his speech Cameron spoke out against those who do not share his so-called “British values”.

The meeting unanimously rejected Cameron’s statements as people from all backgrounds came together to defend multiculturalism (see right).

Weyman Bennett, joint chair of Unite Against Fascism said that as the Tory cuts hit home and their drive for scapegoats increases, it is vital that those under attack stand up to racism.

Danes give the thumbs down to new immigration minister Søren Pind's suggestion that foreigners seeking to apply for citizenship should be assimilated and not just integrated, a Gallup/Berlingske opinion poll shows.

Poll shows majority see negative influence of multiculturalism however

In the poll, 58 percent said they agreed with Pind that the country’s culture has been negatively affected by multiculturalism. Meanwhile, some 54 percent would prefer a multicultural society to a monocultural one, and 60 percent said that foreigners should be integrated while only 29 percent said they should be assimilated.

Pind stole the headlines last week with his insistence that foreigners should assimilate into Danish society, rather than integrate.

“When people come to Denmark to become Danish citizens, they come here because they want to be Danish – and not to change Denmark,” he said.

"State multiculturalism" has failed and left young Muslims vulnerable to radicalisation, David Cameron, the British prime minister, has said, arguing for a more active policy to heal divisions and promote Western values.

Cameron, in a speech to a security conference in Munich on Saturday, said that Britain and other European nations needed to "wake up to what is happening in our countries" as well as tackling terrorism through military operations overseas. "Under the doctrine of state multiculturalism, we have encouraged different cultures to live separate lives, apart from each other and the mainstream," Cameron said.

"We have failed to provide a vision of society to which they feel they want to belong ... all this leaves some young Muslims feeling rootless. "We've even tolerated these segregated communities behaving in ways that run completely counter to our values. "It is time to turn the page on the failed policies of the past."