[ALBSA-Info] {QIKSH «ALBEUROPA»} Albanian Teens Expelled From School for Wearing Islamic Scarves

[Nikoll A Mirakaj]

Albanian Teens Expelled From School for Wearing Islamic Scarves 

TIRANA, Feb 2, 2001 -- (Agence France Presse) Three Albanian girls were expelled from the foreign language secondary school for wearing Islamic head coverings in class, the school principal said Friday.

"Students must respect the rules of the school, which is secular and where religious accoutrements are banned," Prel Vata told AFP.

"Outside the school, they are free to do what they want, but here it is not possible to do gymnastics in a headscarf or to refuse to attend certain courses for religious reasons," Vata added.

He noted that all students had signed the school's statutes at the beginning of the year.

"It is my religion. I believe in it, and the veil is a requirement for a good Muslim," said Miralda Gjoka, 17, a top English-language student and one of the three expelled.

"I tried everything to get her to stop dressing that way," her father Xhevat said. He had traveled from northern Albania to try to convince his daughter to choose school over the scarf.

"There are Koranic schools in Albania and everyone is free to enroll, but there are also public schools where the rules must be respected," said education ministry official Vaso Qano.

More than 1,000 Albanians aged between 14 and 18 attend Koranic schools where their teachers are often Arabs or Kosovo Albanians. ((c) 2001 Agence France Presse) 

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