Belgium's Supreme Administrative Court, the Council of State, has suspended the dismissal of a teacher of Islam because she refused to take her headscarf off outside of the classroom. It ruled that an individual school may not impose such restrictions, Belgian media reported Tuesday.In 2006, a primary school teacher in the Brussels district of Sint-Pieters-Woluwe, refused to take off her headscarf, was allowed to keep it on inside the classroom, but was told not to wear it outside the class. According to the school management this went "against school regulations", and she was fired.
The Council of State ruled that an individual school or group of schools may not impose a ban on religious symbols. Only the umbrella organisation of the state or public schools has the authority to do so. There is already a general ban in public schools in Brussels on students wearing headscarves.
Schools in Belgium provide special Islamic classes for Muslim pupils.