A fierce controversy has again broken out in several European countries over hijab and niqab. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said the burka, the traditional Muslim garment covering women from head to toe, was a "sign of subservience" and a matter of "a woman's freedom and dignity." In addition, there is growing controversy over hijab in Germany and Belgium. Commenting on Sarkozy's statements, Al-Azhar Grand Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi said: "This is an internal affair and we have nothing to do with it." In exclusive statements to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Tantawi said: "I have nothing to do with the French President's decision on wearing niqab in France, because each state has its own laws. Each state organizes its internal affairs as it wants." Niqab is not an Islamic duty. Women have the right to wear it or not. But hijab is a religious duty in Islamic countries. It should cover women's body to the exception of faces and hands. Women should not wear see-through or ill-fitting clothes. Salem Abdel Galil, The Ministry of Wakfs (religious endowment) Undersecretary for Islamic Call, had the same opinion. He said: "Niqab is not an Islamic duty. Women can remove it where it necessary, but hijab is a duty and should not be removed under any circumstances." The French parliament decided yesterday to form an ad hoc committee to discuss the spread of niqab in France. In Belgium, some MPs called for a legal amendment to ban the wearing of religious insignia. This came after an MP, from Turkish origins, wore hijab in the parliament. In Germany, the Federal Labor Court in the state of "Baden" allowed the possibility of warning teachers in kindergarten if they insisted on wearing hijab during working hours. A Turkish teacher violated a law – endorsed in 2006 – prohibiting the wearing of hijab in work. The court said the teacher violated the principle of neutrality by insisting on wearing headscarf.
