Senegal: Clash over Islamic Veils in Schools

Source: FSSPX News

Dr. Philippe Abraham Tine and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko

This is not a new issue, but one that comes up periodically: Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko has “stirred controversy by asking all schools to allow young girls to wear the Islamic veil,” according to La Croix, even though it is forbidden in Catholic schools. His statement caused quite a stir and has seen a resurgence in recent days.

Catholics represent around 2.7% of the Senegalese population. But Catholic schools are greatly prized for their academic results, despite their cost. In fact, a “portion of political leaders attended these schools, including the current new President of the Republic, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, who was elected in March,” La Croix recalls.

The Pulse website reports that “Catholic establishments are divided between preschool, elementary, middle-secondary, technical and vocational training, as well as higher education.” They accommodate around 120,000 students, of whom only 28% are Catholic, Vatican News notes.

A Tradition Rooted in Catholic Education

As early as 2011, “the Direction de l'enseignement catholique du Sénégal had issued a circular banning the Islamic veil in Senegal's private Catholic establishments,” Pulse recalls. This directive led to the dismissal of around twenty students from Cardinal Hyacinthe Thiandoum School, causing a dispute between Muslims and Catholics.

In 2019, the Institution Sainte Jeanne d'Arc in Dakar turned away 24 high school girls because they wore the veil, and the new rules required “an uncovered head.” After negotiations with the State, the pupils were reinstated, RFI explains, but with “a suitably-sized veil, provided by the school and which does not obstruct the uniform.”

However, “the school management made it clear that this amicable agreement was for this school year only.” There was no question of granting the same exemption for the following year. The justification for this change was the inadequate behavior, in the eyes of the school, of veiled pupils who refused to follow several school rules, including wearing uniforms.

A Prime Minister Opposed to Catholic Schools

At the end of July, Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko declared that “Some things can no longer be tolerated in this country (...). In Senegal, we will no longer allow certain schools to forbid the wearing of the veil,” La Croix reported on August 7. This attack provoked an initial response from the Conseil National du laïcat du Sénégal (CNL), set up by the Senegalese Bishops’ Conference.

A Senegalese Jesuit was given access to the columns of Vatican News to report the remarks of Dr Philippe Abraham Birane Tine, president of the CNL, and to explain them, recalling the right of Catholic schools to promulgate internal regulations that all must respect.

But on Thursday, September 19, at an interministerial meeting, the Prime Minister reiterated “the importance of strict and uniform regulations in all the country's schools,” NDARInfo reports. This “new regulation should apply to all establishments, including those considered ‘foreign,’” according to the same source.

This last sting—designating Catholic schools as foreign—prompted the President of the CNL to issue a statement. After “welcoming” the government's concern to improve “teaching conditions,” and the “particular interest [...] in the compulsory wearing of uniforms” pioneered by Catholic education, he recalled that Senegal is a secular State.

He went on to encourage “Senegal's private Catholic schools [...] to promote Christian values” and the “formation of man and all mankind in love and charity,” before “regretting the Head of Government's persistent error in considering private Catholic schools as ‘foreign schools.’”

The tone then shifts to invite “all the Christian faithful [...] to remain vigilant in the face of alarming signals that tend to ostracize the Catholic community.” He concludes with even stronger words: “Threats are ineffective. The Church knows no fear. She walks in Truth, Justice, and Peace.”

It is to be hoped that this situation will soon subside, in keeping with the principles of Catholic education.