The general atmosphere prevalent after the events of
September 11 and the wave of Isamophobia that has
overwhelmed all Western capitals, made the French realize
that they are actually hosting one of the biggest Islamic
communities in Europe, averaging around 6 million Muslims.
The people who belong to the same religion as Osama bin
Laden surround Paris and occupy complete districts inside
Paris and in several other French counties.
Searching for the sources of hostility to hijab among the
French elite, it is obvious that there is a sense of
danger, which was mirrored by the prohibition of all
religious symbols, spearheaded by Islamic hijab, and is
attributed to the following:
- The intransigent application of the hijab (veil) as a
religious manifestation has been linked to the growth of
Islamic movements, or rather political Islam in Western
terms; no doubt the American war on radical Islam, or
rather terrorism, enhances these attitudes.
This explains why those interviewed in the media, when
asked about hijab, answered that hijab is not an Islamic
obligation as much as it is a new political symbol
associated with the Islamic movements that are gaining
strength in France.
- It is largely believed that hijab is a symbol of the
submission of women in Arab and Islamic countries, and
therefore contradicts the principle of the freedom of
women. Hijab is believed to be the natural outcome of a
patriarchal society in which the father and the brother
have the upper hand, and in which the choices of a wife,
daughter, or sister are made through the males. Therefore,
the call for the prohibition of hijab in schools is
relevant from the secular point of view; the girl, at this
age, is compelled by her father or elder brother to put on
the veil. In many Parisian districts and other areas,
girls are compelled to put on the veil so as not to be
labeled as prostitutes. The “no prostitution, no
submission” movement was greatly welcomed by the French
elite, which considered this movement an opposition to the
prevalent picture of these districts as strongholds for
Islamists.
- There is a call prevalent in Western Islamic circles to
set a clear fiqh for minorities in order to provide
answers for Muslims living there. The lack of such fiqh
has led many French Muslims to resort to the Eastern fatwa
banks that are totally ignorant of the European Islamic
reality, impeding all the more the issue of merging.
Demonstrations were organized everywhere, yet one
unanswered question is still absent from all hypotheses
defending hijab: what is the role played by the Muslims of
France in this regard? Have the Muslims of France
contributed, either intentionally or non-intentionally, to
mobilizing such a hard-line secular trend against them?
Why is there all this worrying? What are the motives?
Was France really in need of being reminded that
secularism is the fourth of its slogans? What urged
President Jacques Chirac, three centuries after the French
Revolution, to mention that equality between both sexes is
a basic value in the republic?
Are the arguments made satisfying to you? or do you feel
that they are just any kind of criticism and
discrimination??
Read the complete article at :
Why Do the French Refuse Hijab?
(Can we try to keep this a REAL discussion and NOT a tense
argument full of hatred and evil accusations...Thanks;))
# The Admin has activated the link. |
Reply