Church Bans Religious Attire

The Russian Orthodox Church has criticized a French law banning public school students from wearing religious attire, including headscarves, a measure that led to the abduction of two French journalists in Iraq.

"At the very beginning, when this law was being drafted, we voiced our concern over this ban on expressing one's religious sentiments," Father Mikhail Dudko, spokesman for the Moscow Patriarchate, told Interfax on Monday.

Apart from headscarves, the law forbids school students from wearing any conspicuous signs showing their religious affiliation, including large Christian crosses.