Lucknow, August 25: Muslim clerics have criticised the Allahabad High Court’s decision in a case concerning a minor student’s request to wear a hijab along with the prescribed school uniform.
The student had approached the court seeking permission to wear a headscarf while attending school. The High Court dismissed the petition, observing that sufficient material had not been placed before it to establish that wearing a scarf was an essential religious practice.
The court also noted that photographs placed before it showed other students from the same religious community attending the institution without wearing scarves.
Islamic Centre of India Chairman Maulana Khalid Rasheed criticised the order, maintaining that hijab is an integral part of Islam. He said Muslim students should be allowed to wear the hijab while also following the prescribed school uniform.
Shia cleric Saif Abbas also expressed disagreement with the court’s observations. He argued that the fact that some Muslim women do not wear hijab should not be taken as evidence that the practice has no religious significance.
The clerics said they were not opposed to school uniform rules and maintained that wearing a hijab could be accommodated alongside the prescribed uniform.
The court’s decision and the reactions from Muslim religious leaders have sparked renewed discussion over religious attire in educational institutions and the balance between school dress codes and individual religious practices.
