Muslim groups and world civil advocacy groups join hands to speak out against the hijab ban

By Mustafa Abdel-Halim, IOL Staff

CAIRO, January 10 (IslamOnline.net) – Tens of thousands of people will march to French embassies and diplomatic missions around the world on January 17, in a collective appeal for Paris to backtrack on a decision to ban Hijab in public schools and state institutions.

"Muslim organizations and global civil advocacy groups in more than 25 countries nodded in approval to show up for support in this day," Mohamed Nasser Al-Atrash of France’s Muslims Party told IslamOnline.net.

He said that call-in and letter-writing campaigns have also been launched in France to send it clear that opponents to the ban – feared to come into effect in the next academic year beginning in September – outnumber supporters.

Al-Atrash hinted that French leftist parties, such as the French Communist Party (PCF) and the Green Party, could also join countless world voices speaking out against the ban.

French President Jacques Chirac said in a televised address last month there was no place for hijab and other ‘conspicuous’ religious wears in schools of his rigidly-secular country.

In Britain,  the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) and the Muslim Women Society (MWS) have jointly called for January 17 to be declared an international day of protest against the French move.

MAB media director Ihtisham Hibatullah said that human rights organizations in addition to religious and women’s groups from different world countries have confirmed they will hold pickets, vigils and demonstrations or letter-writing campaigns on the day in response to the call.

"The French government must realize that it has made a huge mistake by forbidding Muslim students and employees from wearing as they wish and as their religion stipulates," he said.

Thousands of people are to show up outside the French Embassy in London and the French Consulate-General in Scotland at 12 o’clock noon.

London would likely host an international conference of prominent opponents and group leaders firmly standing against the French move.

In the U.S., Muslim, Jewish and Sikh groups are to join hands for large protests, while sit-ins are planned outside the French Embassy in Washington and consulates across the country as well.

The demonstrations will be staged in cities hosting French diplomatic missions, namely, Washington, Atlanta, Houston, Miami, San Francisco and New York city, said Ismail Kamal, of the Muslim Students Association (MSA) of the U.S. and Canada.

He added that most of the demonstrators are to take to the street and queue outside the French Embassy and consulates.

"We got the endorsement of many human rights, civil rights and religious organizations," said the activist.

Kamal said that teach-ins would be held in the American cities where there are no French diplomatic missions.

Mosques will be opened for non-Muslims to know more about hijab and the cause pushing all those people out to coax Chirac into rescinding his decision.

In Canada, protests and vigils are also expected in Ottawa and Montreal – where more than 300 Muslims live, he added.

ANSWER (Act Now To Stop War and End Racism) will also join forces, sending the message that "opposition is not religious-based, but rather to a gross breach of human rights and contravention of the notions of secularism which uphold personal freedoms".

Abeer Forown, a British organizer, said that responses from Jordan, Iran, Iraq, Malaysia and Mexico were received for similar actions.

In Lebanon, organizers said that 1,2000 hijab-clad women are to assemble outside the French Embassy in the capital Beirut.

They will deliver a letter of protest to the French ambassador.    

Repeat Fears

Protests are also planned in Germany and Belgium, where Muslims fear similar anti-hijab laws are being cooked.

Seven German states have backed a legislation barring  hijab during a recent meeting of 16 regional ministers for culture, education and religious affairs in the western German city of Darmstadt, while eight opposed such laws.

Organizers say Muslims abroad have to work as hard as possible to show opposition to the French decision lest it should threaten their own future.

"It could end up with Muslims living in isolation, as they could move to the other extreme, opening their own schools and shrink in ghettos," warned Forown.

"Expect extremism and terrorism, also," added the British campaigner.

High Turnout

The worldwide protests are expected to lure a high turnout.

"I – as well as many of my Muslim friends – will turn up for the day. It is an obligation towards people in France and towards ourselves," said Soha El-Samman, a London-based activist.

She said the 1.2 million British Muslims fear the French move could stand a repeat in the country, although British officials assured them of the opposite.

"We feel scared that the British government could follow suit," said El-Samman.

For Lina Hashem, vice president of USA MSA, participation will show how her decision to wear hijab does not conflict with being both an American.

There are no immediate reports that French embassies would take precautionary measures for the day.

A diplomat in the French Embassy in Cairo denied knowledge of protests or sit-ins planned for the international day, saying it would be premature to speak about special measures.

Asked whether the embassy expects such protests in Egypt, she said: "We have expected reactions to the hijab ban, but not such exaggerated objections".