Muslim veil sit-in ends at Tunisian university

TUNIS, 5 January 2012 (AFP)

A weeks-long sit-in at a Tunisian university that banned the wearing of the full-face Muslim veil ended Thursday, a school official said.

Habib Kazdaghli, dean at the arts department of the University of Manouba, near Tunis, said campaigners for the veil left quietly.

“They’ve left, the sit-in is over,” Kazdaghli said. “Police were present but there was no violence.”

Kazdaghli did not say what broke the deadlock, but stressed the veil would remain prohibited in the classroom. The faculty is expected to reopen Friday, he added.

Since November 28, a group of students who were for the most part not enrolled at the university had occupied the faculty to demand the right for students to wear the full veil, known as the niqab.

The university had banned the garment over security concerns if students were concealed from head to toe.

Many ultraconservative Muslims attended the sit-in, causing the faculty’s closure on December 6. Manouba is about 25 kilometres (15 miles) west of Tunis, the country’s capital.

The ultraconservative Muslims, known as Salafists, have increased in profile since last year’s overthrow of strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, as part of the Arab Spring uprisings.