Excerpt:
Muslim groups in Germany accused the Bavarian government of double standards on Friday as a new order requiring government buildings in the mainly Catholic southern region to display a crucifix went into effect.
There is no ban on Muslim women wearing a headscarf in Germany, though some states have restrictions on headscarves and other Muslim religious clothing in courtrooms and schools.
Markus Soeder, Bavaria’s premier of the arch-conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) party, introduced the decree on crucifixes in April, drawing a furious reaction from opposition politicians and prominent clerics.
“We believe that religious symbols and values are important for society,” Burhan Kesici, the head of the Islamic Council organization, told Reuters.