Berlin Green Party politician on the headscarf ban: “Abolish the neutrality law!”
Berlin MP Tuba Bozkurt wants to ensure that not only teachers are allowed to wear headscarves in the future. Religious symbols should also be permitted for police and the judiciary.
Enough is never enough. The debate over the neutrality law continues in the Berlin House of Representatives. The coalition government in Berlin's Christian Democratic Union (CDU/SPD) has agreed to no longer impose a blanket ban on teachers in Berlin wearing headscarves as a religious symbol in schools.
According to this, a ban will only be possible in the future if there is verifiable evidence that the headscarf poses a concrete threat or disruption to school peace. The debate became clear: For some, this proposal goes far too far, for others, not far enough.
Berlin Greens and Left Party are in favor of headscarf freedom for the police and judiciary"The discriminatory ban on religious clothing remains in place with this reform – it's just supposed to be better disguised now," criticized Green Party MP Tuba Bozkurt. In her speech, her parliamentary group's anti-discrimination spokesperson emphasized the right to self-determination – "the right to decide about one's own life, one's own body, one's own appearance, without fear, repression, or arbitrary state action." This should not be relativized. Therefore, Bozkurt continued, she demanded: "Abolish the neutrality law! For a public service that considers everyone – and excludes no one."
Tuba Bozkurt, who, by her own account, used to wear a headscarf, has made a name for herself as a campaigner against the headscarf ban. She first attracted attention in the Berlin House of Representatives, of which she has been a member since 2021, in June 2024. During a question and answer session about the fatal knife attack in Mannheim, Interior Senator Iris Spranger (SPD) began a sentence with, "The terrible death in Mannheim shows us, of course..." Bozkurt interrupted, shouting, "Mannheim is dead?" The Green Party member later apologized and, as a last resort, resigned from her seat on the House of Representatives' presidium.
This time, everything went smoothly. Tuba Bozkurt received support from her Left Party colleague, Elif Eralp. She, in her own words, considered the fact that the CDU/SPD coalition combined its equally freshly drafted police law with that of the neutrality law into a single agenda item "an act of discrimination." And this is even more true when a woman is accused of violating the Basic Law simply because she wears a headscarf. Yet this Basic Law is, according to Eralp, "an anti-fascist and anti-racist manifesto."
Just like Bozkurt, Eralp also demanded that religious symbols be permitted for police, prosecutors, and judges. He argued that everyone should be granted equal access to such offices; anything else would be discriminatory.
Berlin Left: The Basic Law is an “anti-fascist and anti-racist manifesto”The relevant jurisprudence of the Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe does not go that far. The court has held the Berlin Neutrality Act unconstitutional for ten years – with the subtle caveat, however, that this only applies to female teachers. And only as long as school peace is not disturbed. There is no mention of women in the judicial and prison service. This means that female police officers, public prosecutors, and judges are still not allowed to wear headscarves. The CDU/SPD coalition is now addressing this with its draft law, albeit with gritted teeth.
A few days ago , CDU parliamentary group leader Dirk Stettner made clear via X the dilemma he finds himself in: "We as the CDU parliamentary group in Berlin say clearly: The state must remain religiously neutral. That is why we have always supported the Neutrality Act. But: We stand by the rule of law. Even if we disagree on the substance, we will implement the Federal Constitutional Court's decision. Because the law prevails over opinion."
We, the CDU parliamentary group in Berlin, state clearly: The state must remain religiously neutral. That's why we have always supported the Neutrality Act. But:
We stand by the rule of law. Even if we disagree with the substance of the matter, we support the decision of the... pic.twitter.com/r6F6Ds9NfI
But not everyone is happy with the new freedom for teachers. For many years, the Berlin School Principals' Association (IBS), for example, fought to maintain the headscarf ban for teachers. In 2020, when the Federal Labor Court ruled in favor of a Berlin teacher who wore a headscarf, the association was shocked. "We are appalled by this ruling; the Neutrality Act is essential for us," said then-IBS chairwoman Astrid-Sabine Busse, who famously became Berlin's Senator for Education a year later. "State schools must be neutral. Neither religious symbols nor party badges have any place there."
Berlin School Principals Association: “Someone wearing a headscarf cannot credibly convey neutrality.”Busse is now history, both in the school principals' association and in politics. However, the IBS still adheres to one fundamental thesis: "Someone wearing a headscarf cannot credibly convey neutrality."
In any case, the question of when a disruption of school peace occurs remains complicated. Law professor Kirsten Wiese from the Bremen University of Public Administration gave an answer to this question to RBB a few days ago. A teacher may be prohibited from wearing a headscarf "if the teacher is missionary, beyond wearing the headscarf." If, for example, she spreads the message: "Convert to the Muslim faith!" – then there is clearly a threat to neutrality. Other, more nuanced cases are likely to end up in court.
Identity politicians have prevailed among Berlin's Greens and LeftWhat is striking about the entire debate is the complete shift in the direction of the Left and the Greens in Berlin. For decades, numerous politicians in both parties were active who vehemently advocated for state neutrality. This is apparently completely over – for the Greens earlier than for the Left. For example, then-Justice Senator Dirk Behrendt, a Green, was the first responsible Berlin politician to want to abolish the headscarf ban. However, Behrendt was unable to prevail in the then-red-green coalition.
By contrast, little has been heard from the long-standing, quite active State Working Group (LAG) of the Secular Greens, which vehemently advocated for the state's religious neutrality. Its last press release was issued in November of last year. Its title was "Combating Islamism Resolutely and Comprehensively."
Berliner-zeitung
