The issue of Islamic headscarves worn by airport security screeners: between demands for “neutrality” and religious freedom

Abstract

This paper analyses the ruling of the German Federal Labour Court of 29 January 2026, which, in a case concerning alleged direct discrimination against a Muslim female job applicant - excluded by the recruiting company partly on the grounds that a ban on wearing the Islamic headscarf applied to her duties as an airport security screener - held that general bans on religious attire, in the absence of a concrete threat to state neutrality and sufficient evidence of likely workplace conflicts, cannot justify restrictions on religious freedom.