Male Muslim students refuse handshakes with women teachers

Male Muslims at one Swiss high school won the right from administrators to turn down handshakes from their female teachers – an upset of long-running traditions at the northern Therwil municipality.

The Local reported that two teen Muslim males complained the policy of shaking hands with even women teachers violated their religious beliefs. And upon complaint, and administrative consideration, they won the right to refuse.

But local leaders aren’t exactly pleased with the decision, the New York Post reported. Justice Minister Simonetta Sommaruga took to local television to decry the ruling, saying “shaking hands is part of our culture” and these teen Muslims shouldn’t be allowed to overturn that, the newspaper reported. And others found the determination in favor of the teens discriminatory. FULL REPORT