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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Azeris protest illegal hijab ban |
| 2010-12-11 |
| [Iran Press TV] Thousands of people in Azerbaijan have protested restrictions on hijab in the country as a pro-Islamic sentiment continues to grow in the former Soviet state. The demonstrators took to streets of Baku on Friday and gathered in front of the education ministry building to protest against illegal restrictions for hijab-wearing students and women in Azerbaijan, a Press TV correspondent reported. The peaceful demonstration turned violent when police and security forces used batons and tear gas to disperse slogan-chanting protesters. The street protests came on the heels of remarks by Azeri Education Minister Misir Mardanov who, commenting on some schoolgirls wearing headscarves, said all children must wear school uniforms. Azerbaijan reintroduced Soviet-era uniforms to secondary school students this year, sparking outrage in the predominantly Mohammedan country. "What does it mean when a 16-year-old girl sits in a class with her head covered?" Mardanov questioned. "There is a school uniform and children should come to school in these clothes." "Everyone can wear whatever they want outside the school, but there are some rules and laws in the classroom." The minister's secular comments come while dozens of students wearing scarves have been banned from school in the past two weeks. The Friday protests were held amid tightened security in Baku and a heavy police presence on the streets of the capital. The Israeli embassy in the Baku, which is not located in the immediate vicinity of the education ministry office, was also heavily guarded by Azeri security forces amid fears of escalating anti-Zionist and anti-Israeli sentiments in the country. Mohammedan communities in Azerbaijan blame the growing secularism in the country on Tel Aviv and accuse Israel of being behind anti-Islamic programs during the Shia mourning month of Muharram and the Mohammedan fasting month of Ramadan. Azeri police jugged more than 10 people during the Friday demonstrations. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 It's a Hobesian delight it is, luckily I'm quick and have claws that even TW would be delighted to own. You say the sweetest things, Zombie Hillary Lover. But I know myself to be the merest kitten to your tiger -- that's why they entrust such classes to you, and I got to tutor the occasional kindergartner in a corner of the library. |
| Posted by: trailing wife 2010-12-11 22:56 |
| #3 Apparently what is needed is a free or reduced-price breakfast/lunch. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2010-12-11 20:23 |
| #2 there are some rules and laws in the classroom. WTF? Rules? Law? In a classroom? LOL! It's a Hobesian delight it is, luckily I'm quick and have claws that even TW would be delighted to own. |
| Posted by: Zombie Hillary Lover 2010-12-11 10:29 |
| #1 I remember Islamists in Uzbekistan trying a stunt like this as a steppingstone to overthrowing the government and establishing a theocracy. I also remember the Uzbek government boiling some of them in a big pot, which really cooled down the Islamist movement. N.B.: In the liberal West, those boiled were not referred to as "Islamist revolutionaries", but as "political dissidents". |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2010-12-11 09:36 |