Yesterday (5.11.2010), France’s National Assembly unanimously (434-0, with 30 Communist members abstaining) passed a non-binding resolution banning the wearing of the full Islamic face veil.
Archive for the ‘Veiling’ Category
France One Step Closer to Banning Burqas
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010A Frenchman Argues for Banning the Burqa
Wednesday, May 5th, 2010A timely piece in light of our discussions in class the past two days appears on the Op-Ed page in today’s New York Times:
JEAN-FRANÇOIS COPÉ, “Tearing Away the Veil,” New York Times (Op-Ed piece), May 5, 2010
SUPPLEMENT: Thanks to Deenie for calling our attention to an article about a Muslim cleric in Paris named Hassen Chalghoumi who also thinks the burqa should be banned:
The Islamic Veil Across Europe
Monday, May 3rd, 2010Here is a link to a summary of many different European countries and their policies on Islamic head scarves. There is a description of the different types of head coverings and descriptions of specific policies in each European country.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5414098.stm
Belgian Lawmakers Pass Burka Ban
Monday, May 3rd, 2010The Belgium government announced Monday that it was in the process of passing a law that said women could not wear the burka, the full Islamic face veil. The law was just passed by the lower level of the senate, and is now being moving on to the senate where it could the wording could be challenged. The BBC article reported only 30 women wear the full face covering in Belgium out of half a million Muslims in the area.
The government is placing a ban on the burka because of security reasons, says Dominic Hughes from the BBC. MPs from Belgium also said that the burka is a symbol of oppression of women. According to the BBC article, “The ban would be imposed on all buildings or grounds that are ‘meant for public use or to provide services’, including streets, parks and sports grounds.” Those who break the law are subject to a 13-27 fine or a 7 day jail sentence.
The vote on Thursday was almost unanimous with 134 people voting for the ban, and only 2 voting against it. It is expected to pass smoothly through the senate and be put in effect as soon as June or July. Liberal and Christian democrats say they will question the proposed law when it faces the senate, which could cause a delay. Delays could also be caused if elections are called which would dissolve the parliament, as the Belgium government collapsed last week.
There has been much criticism of the proposed law. The Muslim Executive of Belgium said that the move would lead women who do wear the veil to feel trapped in their homes. Amnesty International said a ban would set a “dangerous precedent.” The group said that the move would “violate the rights to freedom of expression and religion of those women who wear the burqa or niqab as an expression of their identity and beliefs.”
Iranian Women’s Soccer Team and Head Covers
Monday, May 3rd, 2010Building upon Ji’s report today and the discussion that followed, here is a timely piece about an Iranian women’s soccer team and their tussle over head wear.
See also my recent post on the banning of the full face veil in Belgium.
Belgium Bans Full Face Veil
Saturday, May 1st, 2010Go to story via Reuters and The Washington Post, April 30, 2010
Juan Cole offers insight into this issue in a recent post on his blog (read the responses at the bottom, too!).
See also my translation of a piece written by the Syrian poet “Adonis” in 2003. Excerpts:
“The mosque is the (only) place in the West where the Muslim’s preferences outweigh those of others (yatamayaza), where there is complete clarity about his religious “identity” (this is the way it ought to be in Arab countries, too). This is the only place where he may exercise his religious rights totally. All religious practices outside the mosque, social or public, constitute an attack upon common values. An institution, especially an educational institution such as a school or university, is a secular, public, and common place, a meeting place, a place that is open to all people, a place where signs of private, distinctive religious practices, no matter what they are, should disappear. The same goes for the street, the coffee shop, clubs, movie theaters, and public lecture and conference centers. The presence of distinctive religious signs and symbols in places such as these constitutes a violation (kharq) of their meanings and purposes, a violation against the unique religious membership (al-intima ‘a) as well as an offense against unique common “identity.” It is a symbol of the wish to separate, the wish to refuse assimilation (al-indimaj). It represents the assertion of a particular and different identity within the singular public identity. Thus, it represents a challenge to public sentiments, public tastes, public culture, and public morality…
In summary, I am saying that the religious interpretation which calls for imposing the veil upon Muslim women living in a secular country which separates religion and politics and in which men and women are equal in rights and obligations shows a mentality that doesn’t only veil women, but seeks to veil humanity, society, and life, too. It seeks to veil the mind. It is an interpretation that grants many in the West the right to see in it the tearing down of the foundations that the struggle for freedom, justice, and equality in the West set in place, and to see in it a demand to nullify the role of women in public, social, cultural, and political life along with destroying totally the principles of secular life in Europe and the West. ”
France Moving Closer to Banning the Veil
Thursday, April 8th, 2010Egypt’s Veiling Roller Coaster
Friday, October 23rd, 2009This week’s issue of The Economist (“No Shame in Showing Your Face,” Oct. 17, 2009, p. 60) points out that, “In Egypt’s 100-year-long debate over female head-coverings, the veil has been put off and on as fast as hemlines in Paris have gone up and down.” Egypt’s Sayed Tantawi, Sheikh of Al-Azhar University, the oldest and most prestigious Islamic university in the world, recently banned the wearing of niqab (full body and face veil) in all girls schools as too extreme an interpretation of the Muslim call to dress “modestly.” The predictable firestorm of protest led the Sheikh to modify his ruling: he now says the niqab is simply “unnecessary” in all female schools.
Top Egyptian Cleric Bans Full Veils
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009Sheikh Mohamed Tantawi, Egypt’s top Muslim cleric, has issued an edict banning the full face veil (niqab) saying it has no basis in the Qur’an.
French President Calls for Ban on Burqa
Monday, July 20th, 2009French President Nicholas Sarkozy has called for a ban in his country on the full-body veils worn by some Muslim women. Sarkozy said:
“‘The problem of the burka is not a religious problem, it’s a problem of liberty and women’s dignity. It’s not a religious symbol, but a sign of subservience and debasement. I want to say solemnly, the burka is not welcome in France. In our country we can’t accept women prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity. That’s not our idea of freedom.’”
Angelique Chrisafis, “Nicholas Sarkozy Says Islamic Veils are not Welcome in France,” guardian.co.uk, June 22, 2009
See also — story of Moroccan woman denied French citizenship in 2008
See also: article by “Adonis,” Syrian poet living in France
