German regional court ruled a German Muslim woman teacher cannot wear a headscarf during lessons although nuns who taught at state schools were permitted to do so in their religious habits.

A German woman teacher who converted to Islam cannot wear a headscarf during lessons, according to a regional court ruling disclosed Tuesday.

The Administrative High Court in the southern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg ruled that the 58-year-old violated school laws by wearing headgear.

The judges overturned a ruling by a lower court that allowed the teacher to wear a headscarf because nuns who taught at state schools were permitted to do so in their religious habits.

The high court declined to accept the teacher's argument that she should be treated the same as the nuns on the grounds of religious equality.

"I have been wearing a headscarf for 13 years and nobody has taken offence until now," said the teacher at a court hearing on Friday.

The woman became a teacher in 1973 and began wearing a headscarf in 1995 after converting to Islam.

Güncelleme Tarihi: 20 Mart 2008, 09:46