France messes up religious diversity
Heaven and Hell at Brock - Campus Ministries
George Addison
Issue date: 2/3/04 Section: Opinion
"Secularism gone mad" was one commentator's reaction to plans by the French government of President Jacques Chirac to ban the hijab, or head scarf worn by some Muslim women, from state schools along with other "conspicuous" symbols of religious identity.
The new law, approved by the French Cabinet on Jan. 28, has already provoked widespread protest in France and around the world, including mass demonstrations by Muslims as well as people of other faiths who have spoken out in defense of religious freedom.
While the new law will ban Christian, Jewish, Sikh and other religious symbols, it is clearly directed at the hijab. There have been a number of cases in French schools where Muslim women were suspended or expelled for wearing the religious headscarf. France has the largest Muslim population in the European Union, with around five million practicioners. Unlike the situation in some countries where religious dress is imposed on women, women wear the hijab in France as a mark of their cultural and religious identity, or simply for modesty.
In a nationally-televised speech in December, Chirac asked that the legislation be succinct, quickly passed, and in force by the new school year in September. He claimed that the ban was necessary to protect French secular traditions, and to combat religious extremism.
Behind the proposed ban on head scarves is a clumsy attempt to turn back the clock on pluralism. With global movements of population and culture, every country in the world is experiencing more diversity in terms of race, religion, culture and ethnicity. Demographics are changing. Various minorities are demanding their rights. People are identifying themselves in more varied and complex ways, often in conflict with dominant mores and values. This has frightened both established religious powers and secularist ones.
Chirac's appeal to secularism appears to be little more than an excuse to impose uniformity on religious minorities - there is no indication that Chirac is planning to ban logos such as Hilfiger, Gap or Dior from French schools.
The new law, approved by the French Cabinet on Jan. 28, has already provoked widespread protest in France and around the world, including mass demonstrations by Muslims as well as people of other faiths who have spoken out in defense of religious freedom.
While the new law will ban Christian, Jewish, Sikh and other religious symbols, it is clearly directed at the hijab. There have been a number of cases in French schools where Muslim women were suspended or expelled for wearing the religious headscarf. France has the largest Muslim population in the European Union, with around five million practicioners. Unlike the situation in some countries where religious dress is imposed on women, women wear the hijab in France as a mark of their cultural and religious identity, or simply for modesty.
In a nationally-televised speech in December, Chirac asked that the legislation be succinct, quickly passed, and in force by the new school year in September. He claimed that the ban was necessary to protect French secular traditions, and to combat religious extremism.
Behind the proposed ban on head scarves is a clumsy attempt to turn back the clock on pluralism. With global movements of population and culture, every country in the world is experiencing more diversity in terms of race, religion, culture and ethnicity. Demographics are changing. Various minorities are demanding their rights. People are identifying themselves in more varied and complex ways, often in conflict with dominant mores and values. This has frightened both established religious powers and secularist ones.
Chirac's appeal to secularism appears to be little more than an excuse to impose uniformity on religious minorities - there is no indication that Chirac is planning to ban logos such as Hilfiger, Gap or Dior from French schools.
