Turkish PM connects French headscarf ban with rioting News
Turkish PM connects French headscarf ban with rioting

[JURIST] Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan [BBC profile] linked France's ban on the hijab [JURIST report; JURIST news archive] in public schools to the country's recent rioting [JURIST report], in an interview Monday with the Turkish newspaper Milliyet [media website, in Turkish]. Erdogan blamed feelings of exclusion for stirring racial tensions and encouraging the violence which has resulted in more than 1,000 arrests, 36 police injuries, and one death since the riots began on October 27. The riots originated in suburban Paris among disaffected youths, primarily of Muslim or African descent, but have spread to nearly 300 towns [AP report]. In response to the violence, the Union for Islamic Organizations of France [organization website, in French], France's largest Muslim fundamentalist organization, has issued a fatwa forbidding those "who seek divine grace from taking part in any action that blindly strikes private or public property or can harm others." AFP has more. Le Monde has local coverage (in French) of the rioting.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Justice Department brings anit-trust action against AT&T

On November 20, 1974, the Department of Justice filed its final anti-trust suit against AT&T. United States v. AT&T was ultimately settled out of court with an agreement that the corporation would break up its monopoly on phone service throughout the country.

Nuremberg war crimes trials began

On November 20, 1945, the war crimes trials of Nazi World War II leaders began in the German city of Nuremberg. Review the Nuremberg Tribunal's Charter and the verdicts and sentences handed down on major war figures.

Winston Churchill born

On November 20, 1874, Sir Winston Churchill was born in Woodstock, England. He would go on to lead the United Kingdom as Prime Minister through World War II. Toward the end of the war, Churchill worked with US President Franklin D. Roosevelt to craft the treaties and accords that have defined the world since WWII. A 2002 poll by the BBC declared Churchill the Greatest Briton of all time.

New Jersey ratifies Bill of Rights

New Jersey ratified the Bill of Rights, a set of 10 fundamental amendments to the US Constitution, on November 20, 1789, becoming the first state to do so. The state also ratified an amendment on federal representation which ultimately failed. Additionally, New Jersey rejected an amendment on congressional salaries, which would eventually become the 27th Amendment more than 200 years later. Read the articles ratified by New Jersey.