Issues at Stake in Plural Societies: The Case of Muslim Migrant Women’s Religious Freedom

Newcomers’ social inclusion poses the question of their religious freedom at the workplace and in public spaces. In contemporary EU plural societies, the friction between fundamental principles seems to particularly affect Muslim women wearing headscarves and full-face veils. Though the judgements adopted by the European Union Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights have taken a blind eye to gender-religion based differential treatment or restrictions, this chapter aims to delve into two prominent scholarly debates on and the legal response to the quest for wearing religious symbols. It suggests shifting the focus of the “veiling” and “not veiling” discourse from the dichotomous arguments sustained so far (universal rights vis a vis minority rights; gender rights vis a vis religious rights) to a “both/and” approach, hopefully allowing Muslim female newcomers’ effective moral equality and freedom in Europe