JURIST - Paper Chase: French school expels three Sikh boys for violating religious symbol ban

[JURIST] Three Sikh boys have been expelled from a school outside Paris for breaking the new French law which bans religious items in the classroom. The boys were expelled after months of debate to determine whether turbans were acceptable under the new law. In most schools, Sikhs have reached agreements where they are allowed to wear a keski, a smaller version of the turban. While these are the first Sikhs punished under the law, several Muslim girls have already been expelled. French authorities have indicated that they did not consider the Sikh community when drawing up the law. The law's original purpose was to stop Muslim girls from wearing scarves in schools. All three boys plan to appeal the expulsion. For background on the headscarf ban, see this legislative dossier from the French Senate. BBC News has more.

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