OK, Abrahamers and PC'ers, it's on now!

[Safe-Keeper]

OK, so you know me, I'm a liberal, I like Muslims, I dislike all the attacks on them on this forum, and I've been naively thinking that The Muslim Threat is way overblown.

But -

- a short stroll away from my school there's Christi Krybbe elementary school. It lies in the midst of a 'Little Arabia' neighbourhood dominated by Muslim 'guest workers', and the student body is predominately Muslim (89% Muslim, 6% Christian, 7% nonbeliever/other, according to article). Now, the deal is that nearly all of the Muslim girls wear hijabs, the traditional head garment wore by many Muslims around the world.

Now, what makes my blood boil is that the faculty just passed a new rule which for the sake of political correctness requires every female student and faculty member on the school to wear a hijab. That's right, not only ever Muslim girl, every girl - Christian, atheist or otherwise. Lest the Islamic students, who make up the majority of the student body, will feel alienated. You read that right - the Muslim students, who comprise nine out of ten of the student body and mostly speak Arabic tongues and English on campus, could feel alienated. Wearing head garments, the faculty spouts, will also dampen physical appearance and improve the self-esteem of the students. They refer to positive studies on the wearing of such garments and, are you ready, the success of school uniforms in foreign schools, as evidence that students will be happier wearing hijabs while on campus. It's an "excellent example of how we Norwegians can learn from foreign cultures and integrate their values into our society", according to the principal of the school, Bjarte Somethingorother.

And the worst part? This is being ignored. You won't find articles locally or abroad about this - Bergens Tidende, a Bergensian newspaper known for printing human rights stories, ran it on the front page, but few others picked up on it, and the ones who did turned it into a kind of humorous item, which was then laughed at and forgotten about by the readers. People don't care. That students are being forced to wear garments of other religions against their will simply doesn't bother my countrymen. One of my teachers even had the nerve to call my stance ethno-centric and racist when I brought it up in class, saying that this is no different from how non-Christian students are forced to say a Christian prayer before lunch in public schools along with the Christians, unless they bring a note from their parents. Well, let's see - maybe it's different because the students at Christi Krybbe are students of a Norwegian school? Because they can't bring notes from home to be excempted because the hijabs are "dress code"? Because they risk day-long suspension if they fail to show up wearing something to cover up their hair?

Is it just me, or is this Muslim-friendly PC gone mad?

Kristne elever må bære hijab - Bergens Tidende 29/9/08. The link may be expired by now as it's been moved off of the top of the front page. I'll dig up a permalink ASAP.