Islam And The West

The American University of Cairo was founded in 1919 by Americans to “provide high quality educational opportunities to students from all segments of Egyptian society.”

The University is founded upon “the ideals of American liberal arts and professional education and of life-long learning. As freedom of academic expression is fundamental to this effort, AUC encourages the free exchange of ideas and promotes open and on-going interaction with scholarly institutions throughout Egypt and other parts of the world.” (Source: AUC)

Recently the educational institution has been involved in a legal altercation with a female student.

Iman al-Zainy is a doctoral student at the Islamic University of Al-Azhar in Cairo. She was refused entry into the library complex at the AUC on account of her face veil. Since the incident Al-Zainy has taken the American institution to court and has has now won a landmark legal decision:

“A court in Egypt has ruled that the American University of Cairo cannot ban women from wearing the niqab – the full Islamic face covering – on campus.

The ruling comes after a lengthy legal battle between the university and a female student, who was told she had to remove the niqab for security reasons.

Supporters of the niqab greeted the ruling as a victory for freedom.

But officials at the university have said it indicates a drift towards Islamic extremism.

A committee of the High Administrative Court upheld a 2001 court ruling that the university could not ban Iman al-Zainy from wearing the niqab as it was a matter of personal and religious freedom under law.

The American University (AUC) said some of the principles in the court’s ruling appeared to support its position and it was discussing this with lawyers.

It said it had sought the ban out of security concerns.

“While the American University in Cairo has a policy prohibiting face covering as an issue of personal safety and security, it also recognises the need for respect for the religious values and convictions of our students,” the AUC said….

…Ms Zainy, who was a doctoral student at the Islamic Al-Azhar University, sued the AUC in 2001 after it banned her from entering its library wearing the niqab.

Hossam Bahgat, one of Ms Zainy’s lawyers, told Reuters news agency the ruling was a victory for “women’s autonomy over their body and dress code”.

“The court said in the strongest of terms that it is up to women to decide about their clothing, and that women should not be discriminated against because of the clothes that they choose to wear,” he said.” (Source: BBC News)

Post Script: I wonder if the university authorities know that they should be trying to integrate more with the host Muslim population in Egypt rather than labelling them as Islamic extremists. Surely is not the “when in Rome do as the Romans do” adage rather apt in a situation such as this ?

Image Source: Steve Evans

Technorati Tags: Islam Moslems Muslims AUC War Terrorism Islamofascism Niqab Hijab Iman Al-Zainy Islamophobia

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