(Hard issue – which comes first: the state or religion and how to separate religious freedom and the civil law…)

In Aisha’s case, both the Frankfurt Administrative Court and the Hesse Higher Administrative Court have rejected the bid for an exemption — and decided that the girl will have to tolerate the sight of her fellow male students wearing swimming shorts. According to these courts, an encroachment on the right to freedom of religion is justified here by the state’s educational goals.

Mathias Rohe, an Islamic law expert in the Bavarian city of Erlangen, concurs with this approach — and sees it as a sign of normalcy. Years ago, when relatively few Muslims lived in Germany, it was possible to make exceptions to the rules, says Rohe, “but now Islam has become part of Germany — with all the rights and obligations that this entails,” he argues.

via German Court to Rule on Swimming Lessons for Muslim Girls – SPIEGEL ONLINE.