Danish Official OK's Muslim Practices For Judges, Attorneys

The president of the Danish Supreme Court, Torben Melchior, has ruled that there is no problem with female Muslim judges wearing headscarves in court. Nor is there any objection if they refuse to shake hands with men. Radiance Viewsweekly, reporting on an article in the June 5 Jyllands-Posten [Danish version], quotes Melchior as saying that the country needs more immigrants, including believing Muslim women, to become judges and barristers. "It would benefit integration and our legal system. Judges and lawyers must be recruited from the population as a whole, in order to assure that all backgrounds and points of view are represented," he said.