Washington- The Casablanca Molière School, a French-run private secondary school, has refused to hire a qualified Arabic teacher because she wears the hijab. This incident raises the question of the jurisdiction of French secularism in a largely Islamic country like Morocco.
Contacted by the Moroccan newspaper Attajdid , the spokesman of the Embassy of France in Morocco apologized for Molière’s decision, calling it "offensive to the other teachers." The spokesman did, however, reinforce that French schools from abroad "are required to comply with the principles of secularism [of France]," including "the prohibition from wearing conspicuous religious symbols, whatever the religion concerned."
“For religious reason, it was not possible to entrust her with this job,” read a letter from the director of the school.According to the Moroccan daily Attajdid, Abdelmalek Zaâzaâ, a Moroccan human rights lawyer, said that the decision of the school Molière was probably "abusive." For him, the Ministry of Education must step in and "assume its responsibilities" by defending the teacher. They should also, according to him, respect the fact that Islam is the state religion.
This is not the first time French secularism has been unjustly imposed in Morocco. Last year, a young woman was denied permission to take the entrance exam at Lycee Descartes in Rabat because she, also, donned the hijab.
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