Assalamu Alakum, Welcome to News Right Now - Coercive Measures

On 15/05/2019 CE, a law to ban the wearing of Khimar (headscarf) in Austrian primary schools passed the National Council’s hurdle. The coalition government launched this legislative initiative in the fall of 2018, when the prime minister said: “The veiling of small children is definitely not something for which there should be space in our country.” And as expected, Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz received strong support from the former Vice-Chancellor and former leader of the Austrian Freedom Party.

The law stipulates that: “To ensure the best possible progress and development for all pupils’ personalities, they are prohibited from wearing ideologically or religiously influenced clothing which is associated with the covering of the head, until they finish the school year in which they complete the age of ten.”

Notably, the law targets Muslims, excluding Jewish and Sikh children that also cover their head as part of their religions. On the one hand, they applaud the Austrian constitution as creating the traditional framework for a multi-ethnic society, particularly regarding the safety of small ethnicities in the light of the history of Austria’s Habsburg empire, while the current policy of integration undermines this claim.

The irony is that Western nations are built on the notion of equality and freedom are the most restrictive against Islam - to the point of coercion and penalties. These laws prove the hypocrisy of Western ideals and their inability to create a stable and cohesive society.

They further remind Muslims of Allah (swt) saying,

(وَلَنۡ تَرۡضٰى عَنۡكَ الۡيَهُوۡدُ وَلَا النَّصٰرٰى حَتّٰى تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمۡ​ؕ قُلۡ اِنَّ هُدَى اللّٰهِ هُوَ الۡهُدٰى​ؕ وَلَـئِنِ اتَّبَعۡتَ اَهۡوَآءَهُمۡ بَعۡدَ الَّذِىۡ جَآءَكَ مِنَ الۡعِلۡمِ​ۙ مَا لَـكَ مِنَ اللّٰهِ مِنۡ وَّلِىٍّ وَّلَا نَصِيۡ)

“And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion.” {2-120}

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