Handshaking Compulsory in NL?

A recent article caught my eye about a teacher here in the Netherlands who faced losing her job because she decided, for religious reasons, that she didn’t want to shake hands with men anymore.  Here is the article from DutchNews.nl:

A school in Utrecht was within its rights to sack a female teacher who refused to shake hands with men because of her religion, the civil service appeal board ruled on Monday.

Although the equal opportunities commission had found in the woman’s favour, the civil court in Utrecht ruled in favour of the school, prompting her to appeal.

Samira Dahri had taught at the school for several years before deciding she no longer wanted to shake hands with men.

Trouw reports that the board ruled the school was right to sack her for two reasons. Firstly, the school, with a large proportion of immigrant pupils, is supposed to ready students for the Dutch labour market – and that includes shaking hands.

And secondly, the teacher’s position as a role model and school representative is more important than protecting her against discrimination on the grounds of her religion, Trouw said.

As an expat I’ve often come across Dutch traditions and cultural differences that I’ve had to adapt to, but I’ve not had any issues in regards to religious practices.  I am non-religious so it’s never been an issue.  I wonder how I’d feel if I did have certain deep seeded religious beliefs that didn’t blend in with Dutch society.  Would I give them up to fit in?  Should I be expected to?  I’m not sure.

On the one hand, I don’t understand why the woman was fine for years and then suddenly decided she didn’t want to anymore.  Had she brought this up during the hiring process, maybe the outcome would have been different.  She didn’t seem to have a problem with it in previous years, what would change to make her feel so strongly about it now?

They claim that she is a role model and should be preparing the children for the Dutch labour market where shaking hands is common, but shouldn’t the children also be taught to have tolerance for those who are different and have different beliefs than they do?

I don’t know, I’m torn between the feeling that people have a right to follow their own beliefs and stay within their own comfort zones, and the feeling that there is a certain responsibility for us to adapt and fit in.   Then there is the whole religion vs state thing.

Personally, I don’t mind handshakes, even though I’m sure some Dutch men are hellbent on breaking my fingers.  One thing I would love to do away with is the three kisses.   I’m really not comfortable with that and there is always an awkward standoff with people, where we are figuring out if we go for the three kisses or if a handshake would do.  In 99% of cases for me, a handshake is definitely enough.

So what do you think?  Should this lady have a right to do what she feels comfortable with in regards to her religion, or as a public servant in the Netherlands, should she be forced to put that aside and follow their customs?