June 23, 2004: The federal state ("Bundesland") of Saarland became the third federal state in Germany to prohibit teachers from wearing the Muslim head covering. The decision was unanimous after the bill had been introduced in the state legislature in a joint effort by the governing Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the main opposition party, the Social Democratic Party (SPD). The legislature acknowledged that the head scarf worn by Muslim women can be a genuine expression of religious faith. However, the Saarland "Landtag" maintained that the head scarf is also used as a political symbol by Muslim extremist groups. The decision does not affect Christian and Jewish symbols.

The CDU party leader in the Saarland state legislature, Peter Hans, explained his party's position on the head covering ban in an interview with the Saarland radio network: "Certain symbols may not be worn during school hours. We cite our special educational responsibility in schools, and we reference [our position] to Saarland's state constitution and the Occidental Christian values established thereby." In general, references to Europe's traditional religious values exclude the Muslim faith.

Prior to today's decision, state legislatures in Niedersachsen and Baden-Württemberg had passed new laws prohibiting the head scarf. The legislation was necessary after the high court for constitutional issues, the "Bundesverfassungsgericht", had ruled that the state law in Baden-Württemberg violated the religious freedom of a Muslim teacher trainee from Afghanistan who was refused a permanent teaching position because of her request that she be allowed to wear the head scarf during school hours. In a decision last year, the high court ruled that a head scarf ban would be possible with revised legislation on the state level.

The resulting new legislation passed in Baden-Württemberg and Niedersachsen will be reviewed this week by a lower court in Leipzig. The new legislation could again be referred to the "Bundesverfassungsgericht" if the lower court feels that a ruling on the constitutionality of the new laws is needed, or if the Muslim teacher trainee denied employment in Baden-Württenberg does not accept an adverse ruling by the lower court. The lower court decision will likely affect pending legislation intended to prohibit the head scarf in the states of Berlin, Bavaria and Hessen.

The leader of the Roman-Catholic Church in Germany, Cardinal Karl Lehmann of Mainz, had voiced criticism of legal maneuvering by German states to prohibit the Muslim head covering. In Lehmann's opinion, for the few cases where the head covering is an issue, the normal disciplinary process for government employees would have been sufficient to deal with the matter.