Thomas de Maiziere, Germany interior minister and member of the CDU, expressed to a newspaper his worry of a backlash against Christian symbols if Germany were to ban headscarves. Additionally, he said he would be fine if a woman were to wear a headscarf in his ministry if it as an expression of religious belief, not a stance against the ministry.
The article is regrettably short, but does provide some details on the minister’s views and the context of possible headscarf bans in Europe. I question how one can distinguish a headscarf, or most religious symbols, as purely religious or anti-government. Surely, these symbols are interpreted based on individual reactions to and reasons for wearing a headscarf, which are often ambiguous in both ways.
The article can be found in English at the following URL: http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5328718,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-ger-1023-rdf
