Chirac said "could not tolerate ostentatious signs of religious proselytism." (AFP)

TUNIS, December 6 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – French President Jacques Chirac stepped in Friday, December 5, in a heated debate on hijab in France describing it as "something aggressive."

He stressed that his country "could not tolerate ostentatious signs of religious proselytism", reported a British daily on Saturday, December 6.

Speaking to pupils at the Pierre Mendes-France school in the Tunisian capital, Chirac  further fueled the already piercing debate, hinting strongly at enacting a law banning Muslim girls from wearing hijab in state schools, said The Guardian.

His comments came on the sidelines of a two-day summit that brought together the leaders of five southern-European states and their North African neighbors.

"Wearing a veil, whether we want it or not, is a sort of aggression that is difficult for us to accept," the daily quoted Chirac as saying.

"We cannot accept ostentatious signs of religious proselytism, whatever they are and whatever the religion," Reuters news agency quoted Chirac as saying.

"In our public schools, a veil has something aggressive about it which presents a problem of principle, even if only a small minority wears it," he argued.

Chirac also spoke out against "certain schools of Islam that are not compatible with secularism".

"There is a deviation or drift that leads to excesses that stoke useless fights and totally oppose the essence of religion, which is love and respect for others," Chirac added.

But he stressed that he was not in quarrel with the six-million-strong Muslim community in France, admitting that the French government should do more to integrate Muslims into society, Reuters added.

Chirac set up a secularity commission in July to rule on whether new legislation was needed to handle a growing debate over religion in schools, particularly Muslim schoolgirls wearing hijab.

It is expected to submit its report to him by the end of December after questioning other ministers and representatives of French non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and various syndicates.

Chirac’s comments came after his Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin secured Friday,  November 28, a majority approval of his ruling party to pass the controversial bill.

Critics argue that banning hijab from state institutions risks antagonizing France's Muslims, and ignores the root problem: the failure to integrate immigrants of mainly North African origin.

The London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC)  has launched Wednesday, December 3, a worldwide campaign, urging Muslims to write to European officials, foreign ministers and French ambassadors to take a strong action to stop the mooted discriminatory bill.