March 14 (UPI) -- A ruling by the European Court of Justice on Tuesday allows employers to ban the hijab, or Muslim headscarf, in the workplace.
While non-binding, the ruling comes just before elections in Europe in which mass immigration from Muslim countries is a major issue. The Netherlands will vote Wednesday in parliamentary elections, and France will elect a new president in May. In both countries, the views of far-right, anti-Muslim populists are at the center of public discourse.