CAIRO, June 26 (IslamOnline.net) – A French Muslim activist proposed that parents keep their children from going to their public school for a week to show solidarity with any fellow Muslim student dismissed by the school for wearing bandana, suggested by the education minister to replace hijab in state-run schools.

"In so doing, the French people will rebuff these unsound measures and defend France’s values," Abdullah Milcent, member of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFRI), told Le Monde Friday, June 25.

Circulating his plea among representatives of the sizable Muslim community, Milcent said French citizens who staunchly believe in human rights should rally behind female Muslim students, who feel discriminated against.

He said there would be no justification whatsoever for state schools if they refuse to tolerate bandana-donned Muslim students, who unwillingly gave up their hijab to abide by the new law.

"French principals and teachers are expected to appreciate the student’s respect of law, which will enter into force this September," added Milcent, a physician, who converted to Islam in 1980.

French Education Minister Francois Fillon had proposed to the cabinet on Wednesday, April 21, allowing schools girls to wear bandana.

Appearing in a meeting at the CFRI, then Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy Sarkozy, now serving as finance minister, said the bandana could serve as a "middle ground" for the thorny issue of hijab.

The French parliament adopted last February with an overwhelming majority a controversial bill that bans hijab in state schools, despite fierce opposition from Muslims and international rights groups.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) dismissed the French legislation as "discriminatory".

Hijab Fund

Milcent further announced a fund to financially support law cases to be filed by the families of hijab-donned Muslim girls.

He will also launch in mid August a hotline to provide legal advice for Muslim students enrolled at state schools.

The service will be available six days a week, except Saturdays, from 9:00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. , Milcent said, adding he would welcome assistance from volunteers.

Defending the right of Muslim women in Europe and worldwide to wear hijab, British Muslims established a hijab advocacy group on June 14, comprised of British and international human rights organizations.

Islam sees hijab as an obligatory code of dress, not a religious symbol displaying one’s affiliations – unlike the symbolic Christian crucifixes or Jewish Kappas.