The Federal Constitutional Court ruled today in favour of two female Muslim teachers from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia in a decision that will also apply to other states.
The state's law banned headscarves on grounds they could call into question a teacher's neutrality and cause classroom disruptions. But the court ruled a school would need to show "not only an abstract but a sufficiently specific risk" to justify a ban.
The court also said a clause excepting "Christian and Western educational and cultural values or traditions" from the state's ban violated the constitution's protection against discrimination on religious grounds.