Opinions of clergy on religious clothing in educational institutions

On February 6, the news agency "Regions.ru" published a selection of opinions of clergy about who should decide whether it is possible to wear hijabs in educational institutions. Earlier, the head of the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of the Russian Federation, Ravil Gainutdina, appealed to Vladimir Putin with a request to support Muslim women who defend their right to wear headscarves in educational institutions.

The Orthodox clergy surveyed, although with restraint and reservations, generally supported the idea of ​​wearing headscarves in educational institutions.

The head of the Department of Religious Education and Catechesis of the Yekaterinburg Diocese, Archpriest Alexy Kulberg , recalled that Russian regions differ markedly in the national composition of the population, so such decisions should be made at the regional level: “If in Dagestan or Chechnya they support the initiative to wear religious national clothing, and in Belgorod or Kursk will decide to abstain; this will be a choice of the region made depending on the national composition of the residents.”

The clergyman of the Cathedral of Blagoveshchensk, Priest Svyatoslav Shevchenko, “does not see anything wrong” in Muslim women wearing a headscarf, but believes that by doing this “Muslim girls emphasize their difference from others.” In his opinion, “the students themselves must decide whether to wear such a ritual headdress or not. Maybe universities should find out how other students view this. Teachers could also express their wishes.”

It would be even better, the priest believes, “to open universities with secular specialties, but for Muslims,” and there students could dress in accordance with Muslim traditions.

Dean of the Faculty of Psychology of the Orthodox Institute of St. John the Theologian of the Russian Orthodox University, priest Pyotr Kolomoytsev drew attention to the fact that in many countries with a predominant Muslim population, women in public places do not always walk with their heads covered. Therefore, the priest suggested that “Ravil Gainutdin expresses his wishes in accordance with the traditions not of our state, but of Saudi Arabia.” According to Fr. Peter, Muslims must decide for themselves how exactly to dress - “in mosques and in their religious educational institutions.”

The rector of the Church of the Resurrection in the village of Vasilyevskoye, Ruza district, priest Igor Shumilov , also refers to the experience of other countries where people of different religions live nearby, but, on the contrary, emphasizes that people there wear religious clothes without any obstacles.

“A truly believer will never show aggression towards a person of another faith. This non-believer, despite any external bravado, feels his inner inferiority in comparison with a believer and therefore tries to destroy all manifestations of other people’s faith,” Fr. Igor. He explains the desire not to see religious clothing in secular educational institutions with the “aggressive, forcibly prescribed atheism” of the Soviet era, which “still resonates with the sad echo of religious ignorance and lack of culture.”

The cleric of the Resurrection (Three Confessors) Church of Tver , priest Georgy Belodurov , also spoke out in favor of headscarves in secular institutions, both for Muslim and Orthodox women. “I don’t know how a Muslim woman feels without a hijab, but if she’s naked, then I feel sorry for her. This can interfere with her learning because instead of focusing on the intricacies of science, she is forced to look around to see if someone is looking at her judgmentally,” the priest said.

The corresponding clause, he believes, should exist in the charter of educational institutions. “The main thing is not to turn this into another action,” added Fr. Georgy.

The clergyman of the St. Alexeevsk Ivanovo-Voznesensk Orthodox Theological Seminary , Hieromonk Macarius (Markish), is also a supporter of free choice whether or not to wear religious clothing. True, he stipulates that such clothing should not cover the face, i.e. a headscarf in a public place is acceptable, but a burqa is no longer acceptable.

At the same time, the priest suggests regulating this issue at the highest level - the government or the president of the country: “We see how in European countries the rights of believers are infringed. Sexual perversions are declared the norm and introduced everywhere, offensive caricatures are protected by laws, people of one faith or another are prohibited from wearing clothes that do not interfere with anything. I think the Russian government should take measures to eliminate such prohibitions that are not justified by anything other than social or religious prejudices.”

The only one who definitely spoke out against hijabs in educational institutions was the head of the St. blgv. book Peter and Fevronia in the village. Reasonable Belgorod region priest Mikhail Artemenko . In his opinion, wearing Muslim headscarves in schools and universities is “unacceptable,” since “by allowing them, we will allow any religious clothing” : “What if a child is a Hare Krishna and wants to wear all pink? What if a young man in high school is a Satanist?”

The priest advocates for a "school uniform standard" that allows only "inconspicuous" religious symbols. However, of such religious symbols Fr. Mikhail could only name an Orthodox pectoral cross.

Representatives of Muslim organizations interviewed, of course, supported the wearing of headscarves by Muslim women and noted that the issue of hijab is “overly politicized” and too much importance is attached to it. However, Muslim clerics differed on the question of how the issue of religious dress in public places should be regulated.

“It is up to the student of a particular institution to decide whether to wear a headscarf or not. The choice should be up to the student. And there should be no obstacles from the management of the school or university. We already have enough laws to pass another one specifically for the sake of a headscarf,” says the rector of the Moscow Islamic College , Marat-hazrat Arslanov .

Mufti of Mordovia Fagim-Khazrat Shafiev , on the contrary, is convinced that “a federal law is still needed that would clearly explain and define the rights of believers and the features of traditional religions.”

Representatives of Jewish organizations propose that the solution to the issue of scarves should be left to the educational institutions themselves.

“In educational institutions of those regions where the main population is Muslims, wearing hijabs, of course, will be allowed ,” said Chairman of the Jewish National-Cultural Autonomy of the Kursk Region Boris Diner . However, he sees the ideal option as a uniform school uniform for everyone, as in Soviet times: “Everyone was the same, regardless of nationality and the size of their parents’ wallet .”

The chairman of the local Jewish religious organization of Orthodox Judaism in the city of Orel, the Shalom Center, Semyon Livshits, is also convinced that the problem of the dress code “needs to be discussed” at a school-wide parent meeting, where everyone will have the opportunity to express their opinion : “If such a decision is made at the level federal authorities, there may be dissatisfied people."

In general, S. Livshits believes, the issue of wearing religious clothing “should be decided by the person himself, and the state authorities have nothing to prohibit or allow here. Nothing can be achieved through prohibitions, especially in matters relating to religion.”

Sources

• Hijabs at school: Opinions of clergy // Regions.ru. 2015. February 6.