Belgian Schools Ban Headscarf in Classes

The ban affects 700 schools in the northern region of Flanders, including some in Brussels.

Responding to a complaint by a student at one of the schools, Belgium's highest administrative tribunal ruled on Tuesday that schools could not take such decisions on their own.

The tribunal will rule on the student's appeal next Tuesday -- prompting the community's education board to make public its unified stance on Friday.

Belgian schools have previously enjoyed independence in such decisions, with one third authorizing the wearing of Muslim veils, another forbidding them and the remainder giving no formal guidance.

A similar debate is underway in Belgium's French-speaking Wallonia, and the Brussels capital region.

Hijab has been thrust into the limelight since France banned it in public schools and institutions back in 2004.

Several European countries have since followed the French lead.