The Fine Line Between Church and State or when is a Duck not a Duck

Across Europe there has been a movement to ban the wearing of headscarves in school as a breach of the separation between church and state.

France bans the wearing of any "ostensible" religious articles. The law does not cite any specific items but hijabs, large crucifixes and yarmulkes have all been essentially removed. Belgium and Denmark ban face masks. Netherlands and Italy have active debates about banning scarves and face masks, but have not as yet.

And then there is Germany. Eight of Germany's 16 States have restrictions on the hijab. One of the eight, the City-State of Berlin bans all religious symbols in public institutions including crucifixes, hijabs and yarmulkes.

Five of the eight that ban religious clothing have an exception for Christian symbols and clothing. In Baden-Wuerttemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria Nuns can (actually must) wear their entire habit, but just a headscarf-even by a nun,is banned.

Now, Christian Wulff, the Minister President of Lower Saxony has announced that the next Social Minister of Lower Saxony is to be Aygul Ozkan. She is the German-born daughter of Turkish Gastarbeiter and the first female Muslim to reach a ministerial position.

She is scheduled to be sworn in tomorrow. Yesterday she decided to announce that given the legal separation of Church and State in Germany, she was not only fully in agreement that the hajib should be banned in schools, but that also all the crucifixes should be removed from the schools.

The outcry was thunderous. There were demands for her resignation before she had even assumed her office. Today, Mr Wulff suggested that Ms Ozkan had been misunderstood, and accordingly, without any outside instigation, she apologised for any "misunderstandings" and any "insults or injury of religious feelings" she might have caused.

Mr Wulff went on further to say that although everyone in Lower Saxony was fully aware of the separation between church and state, there existed a close and happy relationship with the christian churches and therefore for the crucifix in the classroom.

I must admit I don't understand how they can make such statements with a straight face. I have always thought what's good for the goose is good for the gander. Furthermore in all these discussions it is about one religion versus another. What about those of us who adhere to no organised religious group?

The fact that on the continent there are a number of political parties with some form of the word "Christ(ian)" in their names has always irritated me. There are those who say these party names evolved in a different time and the real emphasis at the time was republican versus monarchy. Fair enough. But why not change them to reflect today? I think in most instances the question of monarchy is relatively irrelevant.

I do wonder how Ms Ozkan feels arguing about getting rid of religious symbols while being a member of the CDU- the Christian Democratic Union!