The Norwegian government’s ethics committee is recommending that the hijab be allowed for police officers and judges. To make it fair, they also want other religious symbols, such as crucifixes, to be permitted.
One would have thought that crucifixes would be excluded, since they are symbols of “intolerance” that damage “community cohesion”. That’s the official treatment Christian crosses receive in Modern Multicultural Britain, but maybe Norway is different.
Here’s an article on the topic from today’s Aftenbladet. Many thanks to our Norwegian correspondent The Observer for the translation:
Committee wants hijab in the police force
Police officers and judges wearing hijab may become a reality if the Government’s ethics committee led by Sturla Stålsett gets its way, according to an article from the Norwegian newspaper Vårt Land.
Minister of Culture, Anniken Huitfeldt (Labour) established the committee a year and a half ago to outline Norway’s new guidelines on religions. According to Vårt Land the committee will recommend that the use of hijab, crucifixes and other religious symbols be allowed in the public space. If the recommendations of the committee are implemented, police and judges will be allowed to wear hijab, something they’re currently not permitted to do.
“To be exposed to other people’s religions is something we have to tolerate, whether it’s an Imam in a hospital corridor or a police officer wearing a hijab,” one of the members of the committee told the newspaper
Another member confirms the committee’s recommendations.
“By gauging the attitudes within the committee I’m confident that it will be accepted to use religious head garments alongside with judge’s robes and police uniforms,” according to this member.
The leader of the committee, Sturla Stålsett, stresses that Norway is taking a different route than France on this issue.
For a complete listing of previous enrichment news, see The Cultural Enrichment Archives.
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