The thing with the headscarf

Debates about the headscarf push themselves to the fore. So I had one conjured up imaginatively with AI. Would anyone have noticed it? Not that I myself had to wear one — but just to test what it would be like. Perhaps for fashion reasons. Perhaps though also to give visible expression to my Christian faith? Why not. Mary, the mother of Jesus, may well have worn one too. Why should I have to justify myself for that?

A few days ago I observed a scene at Zurich airport: a security employee pointed out to a young colleague that she had to wear her cross, which apparently hung over her sweater, underneath it. A minor matter — and yet it stayed in my memory.

At the same airport there is an airport church and prayer rooms, open to people of all religions. Religious freedom does not only mean being allowed to believe something in one’s innermost self, but also being able to live religion. It is also true: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” And to the same extent it shows itself outwardly.

That is precisely why the headscarf debate makes me thoughtful. It is sparked above all by visible Islam. But if religious signs are pushed out of public space, in the end it affects everyone: the Muslim woman with a headscarf just as much as the nun with a veil, the Franciscan in a habit, or the Christian woman with a cross around her neck. In the end, every person who professes anything.

Neutrality cannot mean that people are not allowed to show convictions, a history, and a spiritual home. Our Swiss constitution also begins with the words: «In the name of God the Almighty.»

That is why I wish for more visible religion, more calm in dealing with it. Curiosity and questions: Why are you a professing Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, or simply as you are? Hey, your universe, your biography, are exciting! People should be allowed to live their faith happily. People without religion as well. There is no ranking there, but mutual respect.

For me, the question of God remains one of the great questions of being human. Wanting to ban this from the visible spheres of life is ultimately inhuman.