MOSCOW, February 4 (Sputnik) – Russia should not review the existing norm of secular education and permit wearing Muslim headscarves at schools, Russian Education and Science Minister Dmitry Livanov told reporters Wednesday.
“There are general requirements for clothes that children wear [in schools], and one of them is that the clothes should be secular,” the minister said when asked about the possibility of letting students wear hijabs in schools.
“At present, we see no reason to review these norms,” he continued.
Livanov's remarks followed reports on Tuesday that Chairman of the Russian Muftis Council, Ravil Gaynutdin, requested protection for schoolgirls wearing hijabs, in a letter to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Gaynutdin's request came in the wake of a complaint scheduled for court review on February 11 in the Republic of Mordovia. In October 2014, the republic's supreme court banned the hijab at local schools after one of the schoolgirls swallowed a pin used to fasten the Muslim headwear.
Second to Orthodox Christianity and one of Russia's three traditional religions, the Islamic faith is estimated to be practiced by nearly 10 million Russian citizens.
