A ruling by the top European Union court allowing employers to ban employees from wearing signs of religious belief such as hijab has sparked anger among Muslims who condemned it as a violation of religious rights.

That ruling Tuesday by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) involved an employee of a Belgian municipality who was told she could not wear hijab at work.

📚 Read Also: What Hijab Means to These Portland Students

“The Court of Justice of the European Union has trampled on the basic principles of religious freedom by denying Muslim women the right to wear a hijab at work,” Ibrahim Hooper, National Communications Director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said in a statement.

“This decision and past rulings in European nations clearly target Muslims and seek to eliminate expressions of Islam from public spaces.”  

Calling on the called on the US Department of State to condemn the ruling, CAIR said the court’s decision meets the US International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) definition of violation of religious rights and thus warrants strong condemnation from the US government.

“People of all faiths who wear clothing or symbols associated with religious beliefs, including members of the Muslim, Sikh, Jewish, and Christian communities, should be allowed to wear these symbols at work,” Hooper added.

📚 Read Also:  Hijabi Perspective: What Does “Freedom” Mean For Hijabis?

Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol displaying one’s affiliations.

Last September, a spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office said, “No one should impose on a woman what she needs to wear or not wear.”