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Outrage in Switzerland as OK for Muslim students not to shake hands with female teachers
A Therwil school has exempted 2 muslim students from shaking hand with female teachers after they complained it was against Islam to do so. It has created a national debate. The county council though has the power to intervene had decided not to.
A school in the northern municipality of Therwil, in the canton of Basel, reached the controversial decision that male Muslim students will no longer have to shake hands with their female teachers. This decision was taken after two male students, aged 14 and 15, and complained that the Swiss custom of shaking hands with the teacher is counter to their religious beliefs if the teacher is a woman.
They argued that Islam does not permit physical contact with a person of the opposite sex, with the exception of certain immediate family members. The local Therwil council did not support the school’s decision, “but will not intervene as (it) is the responsibility of the school to set the rules,” spokeswoman Monika Wyss told AFP in a statement.
The decision triggered an outcry across liberal Switzerland with Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga insisting on Swiss public television yesterday that “shaking hands is part of our culture.” Felix Mueri, who heads the parliamentary commission on science, education and culture, meanwhile described the custom to the 20Minuten news site as “a gesture of respect and good manners.” Christoph Eymann, who heads the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Ministers of Education, agreed, insisting: “We cannot tolerate that women in the public service are treated differently from men.”
The canton’s education chief Monica Gschwind told media she viewed the school’s decision as “pragmatic” although “not a lasting solution”. Muslim groups meanwhile decried the polemic around the issue. “One would think that the continued existence of Switzerland’s core values was at stake, when this particular case in fact involves just two high school students who have said they wish to greet their teacher in a different way than with a handshake,” the Islamic Central Council of Switzerland said. The Federation of Islamic Organizations in Switzerland (FIOS) however maintained that handshakes between men and women were “theologically permissible” and were common in some Muslim countries, insisting the issue should not be problematic in Switzerland.
Once again the issue over religious sanction versus national etiquette has raised it head and this time in seemingly liberal Switzerland. Where do we draw the line? While adherence to our religious belief helps us live our individuality, however, should they come at the cost of compromising the national flavour of our citizenship? Seems no country has yet come up with a solution to this.