Turkey on Tuesday attacked a ruling by the EU's top court that European companies can ban employees from wearing religious or political symbols including the Islamic headscarf, saying it would intensify anti-Muslim sentiment.
"The European Court of Justice decision on the headscarf today will only strengthen anti-Muslim and xenophobic trends," Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in a tweet
"Quo vadis Europa? (Where is Europe going?)" he added.
The response came as Turkey is locked in a mighty row with Germany, the Netherlands and other EU states over the blocking of Turkish officials from holding rallies abroad in the campaign for a referendum on expanding Erdogan's powers.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said it does not constitute "direct discrimination" if a firm has an internal rule banning the wearing of "any political, philosophical or religious sign."
The Luxembourg-based court was considering the case of a Muslim woman fired by the security company G4S in Belgium after she insisted on wearing a headscarf.
Turkey last month said it was lifting a historic ban on female officers wearing the Islamic headscarf in the country's officially secular armed forces, the last institution where the wearing of the garment was forbidden.
Turkey on Tuesday attacked a ruling by the EU’s top court that European companies can ban employees from wearing religious or political symbols including the Islamic headscarf, saying it would intensify anti-Muslim sentiment.
“The European Court of Justice decision on the headscarf today will only strengthen anti-Muslim and xenophobic trends,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said in a tweet
“Quo vadis Europa? (Where is Europe going?)” he added.
The response came as Turkey is locked in a mighty row with Germany, the Netherlands and other EU states over the blocking of Turkish officials from holding rallies abroad in the campaign for a referendum on expanding Erdogan’s powers.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said it does not constitute “direct discrimination” if a firm has an internal rule banning the wearing of “any political, philosophical or religious sign.”
The Luxembourg-based court was considering the case of a Muslim woman fired by the security company G4S in Belgium after she insisted on wearing a headscarf.
Turkey last month said it was lifting a historic ban on female officers wearing the Islamic headscarf in the country’s officially secular armed forces, the last institution where the wearing of the garment was forbidden.
