JURIST Supported by the University of Pittsburgh
PAPER CHASE NEWSBURSTDigest RSS feedFull RSS feed
Serious law. Primary sources. Global perspective.


Tuesday, November 23, 2004

Malaysia court upholds expulsion of students for wearing turbans
Amit Patel at 3:12 PM ET

[JURIST] Malaysia's second-highest court has upheld a teacher's decision to expel three Muslim boys for wearing turbans to school. The ruling overturns an earlier ruling that any school's ban on turbans violated the right to freedom of religion. The Court of Appeal judge Gopal Sri Ram held courts have no place getting involved in disputes between students and school principals. The Malaysian government does not allow overt religious symbols in its schools in an effort to prevent friction among the country's different religious groups and to discourage the spread of conservative Islam. Exceptions are made as Sikh students may wear turbans and Muslim girls may wear a headscarf. The opposition Islamic party, Pas, denounced the decision, saying the government would not be practicing religious tolerance if it supports the students' expulsion and likened the ban to the French headscarf ban. The turban worn by the boys is not part of local Muslim costume but is typically worn by those who have studied religious schools abroad and those who support Pas. BBC has more.






Link |  | print | subscribe | RSS feeds | latest newscast | Facebook page

For more legal news check the Paper Chase Archive...


LATEST LEGAL NEWS

 US House votes for 20-week abortion ban
3:57 PM ET, June 19

 UK Supreme Court allows families of Iraq soldiers to sue government
2:28 PM ET, June 19

 AI: China mining companies contributing to Congo rights abuses
12:51 PM ET, June 19

 click for more...

Get JURIST legal news delivered daily to your e-mail!

LATEST FORUM

Is Egypt's Stance on the Blue Nile Dam Legally Justified?
DOMESTIC
Zeray Yihdego
University of Aberdeen School of Law

ABOUT

Paper Chase is JURIST's real-time legal news service, powered by a team of 30 law student reporters and editors led by law professor Bernard Hibbitts at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. As an educational service, Paper Chase is dedicated to presenting important legal news and materials rapidly, objectively and intelligibly in an accessible, ad-free format.

CONTACT

Paper Chase welcomes comments, tips and URLs from readers. E-mail us at JURIST@jurist.org