French law prohibits the wearing of religious head coverings in schools. In an incident on February 28, the principal of a school in Paris demanded that three girls remove their hijabs, in line with the law. Two of them complied with the order, while one refused and an argument ensued.
The girl claims the headmaster hit her, but investigators have found no evidence of this, the BBC writes. What is beyond doubt, however, is that there have been circular death threats against the headmaster in the days that followed, and the police have patrolled around the school.
On Friday, the headmaster sent an e-mail to colleagues in which he announced that he was resigning after 45 years in the school system and seven years at the school in question. He justifies his departure with regard to his own and the school’s safety.
Two people have been arrested in connection with the threats against the headmaster in Paris. Prime Minister Gabriel Attal says the girl who alleged that the headmaster hit, can also expect a legal settlement for giving a false explanation.
– The state will always support its officials, those who stand on the front line and are confronted with such violations of secularism, with such attempts to give Islam a place in our educational institutions, says Attal.
Politicians from both the right and the left are outraged that an online hate campaign has put an end to the career of a well-respected teacher.
In recent years, two teachers have been killed in Islamist-motivated attacks in France. One of them was beheaded on the street in a Paris suburb, while another was stabbed to death at the school where he worked.
(© NTB)
Tags: News Alert Hijab France prosecutes teenager hijab dispute
