Hijab and Work...follow the codes?

[Salaama]

:hi:Today I came across an article about a Muslim women who wishes to work at the Islamic College of Amsterdam, but she is not wishing to wear Hijab, which is something that they insist she do in order to be accepted as a teacher.

http://www.islamonline.com/cgi-bin/news_service/world_full_story.asp?service_id=1989

The Equality Commission of the Netherlands decided in November that the ICA shouldn’t have insisted that Samira Haddad, 32, wears a headscarf to be accepted as a teacher...

The school's board agreed that a Hijab was not necessary for the performance of duties in the school, but said that there are clear clothing regulations in the Islamic religion.

"The profession of the Islamic faith leads to prescribed regulations in relation to clothing," the ICA said.

It seems to me that if she wants to work there she should follow the clothing regulations, if it was any other job that had a dress code, she would be expected to follow it. I think also what they are saying is that since she is a Muslim teacher they expect her to wear Hijab. It is in a way ironic, alot of us Muslim women fight to wear Hijab and expect to have others accept it and comply, because it is our religion, but she doesn't want to wear it, even though as Muslim women we are expected to wear it. I believe that she has a right not to, but if she wants to work in an Islamic school then she should be expected to wear Hijab. That is my personal opinion, what do you think?

Peace!:hi:

[Aimah]

1. I agree.

She should expect to wear a Hijab when working in a Muslim school especially if that is the standard set by the school.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. If she worked say, as a firefighter or policewoman

she would be required to wear different headgear for her job, and I don't think anyone would object. Since this is an Islamic school, the headscarf seems appropriate, especially since the point of what it says in the Qur'an is to dress so as not to attract attention. If she's the only female teacher without hijab, she's attracting attention.

[Salaama]

3. Thank you both for posting

That is exactly my opinion, I don't know, I think she'll probably win it though...I mean it has to do with religion. I don't know. I really hope they bring that point up though. and I agree about the attracting attention, that is the last thing she would need, then again, it could be taken the opposite way, if she lives in an area where 90% of the people around her do not wear hijab, she could say she is attracting attention, atleast when she is not working in the school. I am just seeing it from her possible point of view, and from ours. I at one point didn't want to wear hijab, and I thought of every way, and every argument out of it, after I did submit to the will of Allah I found it harder (no one at my school or in my county wear hijab) yet it made me stronger, I see her possible struggle, but it is within herself.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. An interesting take on things

Of course, she could wear hijab while teaching and not at other times. I have known Catholic sisters, back in the days when they all wore habits, who would change to "street clothes" to go out for an evening of relaxing at bars (which, of course, is ok with their religion)-they said that so that the other patrons wouldn't feel uncomfortable around them.