Russia Supreme Court allows scarves in Ids

By: Khadija Chinese

MOSCOW, Russia: Russia's large Muslim community hailed as a “triumph for freedom of religion” the verdict of the country’s Supreme Court in which it permitted Muslim women to wear headscarves in photographs for official documents.

The court, in its Thursday ruling, overturned its March rejection of an appeal filed by a group of ten Muslim women from Tatarstan who objected to a police requirement that they be bareheaded in ID photos.

Criticizing the ruling, the Interior Ministry said it planned to appeal because “The cancellation of the requirement which banned head coverings when taking ID photos will seriously impede the establishment of identification.”

The headscarf issue surfaced last year when authorities gave out new Russian passports to replace the old Soviet ones still in use.

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