France confuses head-scarf issue

[kclown]

http://www.gwynne-dyer.com/

The backlash in the Arab world has been so strong that the satellite news channel Al-Jazeera, which never allows its presenters to wear anything that might indicate a particular national or religious affiliation, had to let one of its stars, Khadidja Benganna, appear on-screen wearing a brightly-colored silk scarf. She was only wearing it as a symbol of protest (she fled her native Algeria in 1994 because of death threats from Islamic fundamentalists), but it is a measure of how profoundly France's decision to ban the "Islamic" head scarf from schools has shocked its Arab neighbors.
French Muslims themselves are in shock, and thousands marched last weekend in Paris, Strasbourg and Avignon to protest against the law banning the display of religious symbols in state institutions that President Jacques Chirac formally proposed on Dec. 17. The law is carefully evenhanded, banning students and civil servants from wearing Christian crosses, Jewish skullcaps and political party symbols as well. But it arose out of a yearlong national controversy about head scarves in schools and it is almost universally seen as a sign of French "Islamophobia."

[Flagg]

1. Yeah sure........

we hate arabs, jews and Americans... that's right

if you have seen footage of this demonstration you may have noticed that these young women were all chaperoned by their husbands and brothers.
there was among the marchers one fundamentalist who had his 18 months daughter wear the hijab

[Flagg]

2. Religion is not that big a deal in every country you know

[Bucky]

3. You're missing the point, friend Flagg.

Few people on this board will dispute the fact that the hajib represents a demeaning attitude toward women. That's not the question here. The question is whether a civil government should have the power to decide what is demeaning and what is permissible among the religions in its society. Giving the government veto power over religious expression is wrong and dangerous.

I know several Muslim women in this country who wear scarves and some of them are powerful, independent feminists. They don't, obviously, feel demeaned by this gender-specific symbol. Wearing their scarves doesn't really interfere with any of the coworkers or fellow students from doing their work. Chirac is delusional and overly concerned with other people's business to think otherwise. So what France is doing is trying to insinuate itself into the relationship that people have with their religions. No true liberal should line up behind Chirac's cause here.

[kclown]

4. Point taken, but public schools and civil servants only

are affected by this proposal. IMHO, this is only a bit different from the school uniform controversy that often comes up here in the U.S.