Shabina Begum

LONDON (Reuters) : A 15-year-old Bangladeshi Muslim schoolgirl living in Britain has lost a legal battle for the right to wear full Islamic dress in class.

In a case which echoes the passionate French debate over religious clothing earlier this year, Shabina Begum claimed her school had wrongly refused to allow her to wear a jilbab, which covers the entire body except for the hands and face.

Begum argued at the High Court that her education was suffering and her human rights were breached as a result.

In a ruling which sparked anger among Muslim groups, the judge dismissed her case, saying she had always had the option of attending school in clothes under school rules.

“It seems to me very unrealistic and artificial to say that the claimant’s right to education has been denied..,” said Justice Hugh Bennett.

The school, 80 percent of whose pupils are Muslim, welcomed the ruling and insisted its uniform already took account of “cultural and religious sensitivities.”

But the Muslim Council of Britain condemned the judgment as “extremely worrying” and urged Begum to appeal.

“The Muslim community is a diverse community in terms of the interpretation of its faith and its practice. Within that broad spectrum, those who choose to wear the jilbab and consider it to be part of the faith’s requirement for modest attire should be respected,” spokesman Inayat Bunglawala told Reuters.

Begum’s lawyer Yvonne Spencer told the court it had been “impossible for her to attend the school because she is not allowed to attend wearing her religious dress.”

But the judge said the girl had gone to school happily for two years before she “abruptly... changed her beliefs” and refused to attend unless she could wear a jilbab.

“The claimant refused because she felt compelled by her religious beliefs. It was at all timesto her to change her mind... and return to school,” he said.

Begum started at Denbigh High School in Luton, north of London, in September 2000, and at first wore a shalwar kameez –– consisting of trousers and a tunic –– which school rules allowed.

But as her interest in Islam deepened, she returned after the summer break in September 2002 wearing the jilbab and was ordered to go home and change. She has been back to the school only once since then, to sit an exam.

Muslim groups are already unhappy with Britain’s education system, which they branded Islamophobic as they called for Britain’s 300,000 Muslim children to be offered exclusive Muslim schools and more single-sex teaching.

The debate mirrors that in France, where a ban passed in March on Muslim headscarves, Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses being worn in schools sparked a bitter row.

In a statement, the school said its uniform had been agreed “after wide consultation and pupil involvement.”

“The uniform is designed to be inclusive and takes into account the cultural and religious sensitivities of pupils. Its appropriateness for Muslim students was recently reiterated by the local Council of Mosques.”