German State Bans Headscarves

Germany's most populous state has banned Muslim teachers from wearing headscarves in classrooms in a government bid to protect pupils from the influence of 'Islamic fundamentalism'. Deputies from the ruling Christian Democrats and Free Democrats in have agreed unanimously to put the measure to a vote in the state legislature next month. Headscarf bans for teachers have already been introduced in the German states of Hesse, Lower Saxony, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria and Saarland. In Hesse the ban applies to all civil servants. Germany is home to more than three-million Muslims. -Sapa