the Headmistress Claus Holm sent Wednesday two muslim women return to Aarhus, as the one refused to take her niqab before the meeting with the pupils of the school. The two young women came from the organisation ‘Women in Dialogue’ and was on the Grønvangskolen to hold a lecture for three international classes 7, 8 and 9. vintage.

the Headmistress Claus Holm has not met criticism after its decision yesterday. On the contrary, he has met with support across the board. Photo: Grønvangskolen

It was morning, when Claus Holm sat in his office and casually as the two women came walking into the school. He noted that the one woman wore the niqab, and chose, therefore, to seek out women in order to hear what their errand at the school was.

They were, in fact, started to play football and was very friendly when I approached. There wasn’t any drama over it, says Claus Holm to Ekstra Bladet.

– I asked her niqab, if it was not possible that she could take her clothes of before she went into to the students. She had no desire to be, and it was first there, it was a problem.

After a dialogue with both the two women and the four teacher who had arranged the lecture, all agreed that it was best to cancel the whole event.

the Teachers were not aware that there will come a woman in niqab. The we were, in fact, no one knew. Had we known this, we could of course have avoided, that the two women should take the trip down here from Aarhus without reason.

On the tildækningsforbuddet

‘in any public place wears an item of clothing, that hides his face, shall be punished by a fine’.

Included items of clothing may b.ex. be hats, caps, scarves, masks, helmets, full suits, artificial beard, etc. This prohibition includes the covering of the face, which is done by one or more garments.

It is a concrete evaluation, on the face is considered ”hidden”. By this assessment includes, in particular, whether it is possible to see and read the person’s facial expressions. The Burka and the niqab, as well as elefanthuer, where only the eyes and mouth are visible, are examples of clothing that hides the face.

the Ban includes all persons and clothing, regardless of, for example, religious or political affiliation. Something else is that there may be situations where, for example, by covering the face for religious reasons is not prohibited.

It is not, in itself, prohibited in the public place to hold garments that can be used to hide the face (for example, in a pocket or in a bag).

the Ban applies to ”public place”, which should be understood as corresponding to the area covered by the ordensbekendtgørelsen.

Source: Police.dk

The 1. august 2018 entered a new tildækningsforbud into force: A ban on the public place to wear clothing that hides the face, unless there is a creditable purpose.

Just then, the headmistress Claus Holm it as a problem, women should keep the lectures for the pupils of the school.

– well, the law is the law, and that was mainly why I did not think that the woman should not be allowed to lecture in front of students. In addition, I also think that it would have created a conflict here at the school, as we do not have in advance and also don’t want. the

Grønvangskolen in the Road has about 10 percent of the students speak a language at home than Danish. Despite this, the school has no pupils with a handkerchief.

– Here, it is certainly not forbidden to go with the scarf and the one must have just the religion you want. It is public with the niqab, because the law says it. There is nothing morally or emotionally behind my decision, ” says Claus Holm.

– also, I think, that it had created a problem among many of our parents, if I had given permission to a niqab-clad woman should speak out for our students.

Farhat Jamil, 42, has two children Grønvangskole. After the incident on Wednesday, she sent an email to Claus Holm, where she supported him in his decision.

– I do not believe in the niqab, but it is now not about how I see islam. It’s about the law. I expect as parents, that the school upholds the law, without racism and without condemning, says Farhat Jamil to Ekstra Bladet.

Farhat Jamil came with his family to Denmark nine years ago. She believes that if someone is in disagreement with the law in Denmark, it would be better to engage politically than defy it.

– Claus is just a school headmaster. He can do nothing to when it comes to the law. He should just adhere to it.

– I know too well that I must not take in the parliament in a bikini. The young woman has also been known that the niqab was illegal here in Denmark.

Even if the rumor about the head teacher’s decision yesterday has spread quickly, with Claus Holm, to date only met with positive feedback from parents and people in the city.

– I hope not, it’s going to create a conflict. It is certainly not what I want. However, we comply with the still Danish laws here at the school – also in the morning.

– finally, I just like to emphasise that the two women were very sweet, and her niqab is actually grown up in the same neighbourhood, of which I own, says Claus Holm at the end.