Sarkozy: France 'Cannot Accept' Burqas

[Richard]

An old and on-going issue - we've faced it here in America over things like photo IDs and such - it's been a real issue in France for a number of years regarding school clothing - and - IMO - it ain't over yet - and all because of that enlightened merchant* of religious rightousness - Muhammad.

Richard's $.02

* Muhammad was a merchant prior to becoming 'enlightened' - read the Koran and notice all the references.

[Matt B]

My mom works with children (newborns to 3-years old) and told me the mother of one of the kids once came to pick up her child with a burqa on and the workers had to refuse let the kid go with her since they couldn't identify the woman through the burqa.

[Sigaba]

Source is here.

Qaeda warns France of revenge for burka stance
Jun 30 11:42 AM US/Eastern
Al-Qaeda's North Africa wing threatened on Tuesday to take revenge on France for its opposition to the burka, calling on Muslims to retaliate against the country, the US monitoring service SITE Intelligence reported.

Earlier this month, President Nicolas Sarkozy said the burka, which covers the whole face, was not welcome in the strictly secular country.

"Yesterday was the hijab (the Islamic headscarf long banned in French schools) and today, it is the niqab (the full veil)," Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, head of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb was quoted as saying.

"We will take revenge for the honour of our daughters and sisters against France and against its interests by every means at our disposal."

The group also called on Muslims to retaliate for what it called French "hostility" against the community and its attempt to obstruct Islam's practice on its territory.

"For us, the mujahedeen ... we will not remain silent to such provocations and injustices," Abdul Wadud said without elaborating, according to SITE.

"We call upon all Muslims to confront this hostility with greater hostility, and to counter France's efforts to divide male and female believers from their faith with a greater effort ... (by) adherence to the teachings of their Islamic sharia."

He said Muslims in France, who are estimated at around five million, are "increasingly concerned about the practices of French politicians and leaders and their harassment".

On June 22, Sarkozy said the burka was not a symbol of religious faith but a sign of women's "subservience," adding that the head-to-toe veil was "not welcome" in staunchly secular France.

The French National Assembly set up an inquiry into the rising number of Muslim women who wear the burka.

France is home to Europe's largest Muslim community and faces a dilemma between accommodating Islam and maintaining secularism. In 2004, it passed a law banning headscarves or any other "conspicuous" religious symbols in schools to uphold a separation between church and state.

Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri criticized the law, saying the decision showed "the grudge the Western crusaders have against Islam."

France is the only state in Europe to have such a ban.

It is not known how many women wear the burka in France.

The majority of Muslim clerics around the world do not regard wearing the burka, unlike the head cover, as a religious obligation under Islam.

Call me crazy, but for some reason I have doubts about the Muslim world's commitment to the honor of their daughters and sisters.

Where is the great alleged silent majority of Muslim clerics "around the world" standing up to decry the alleged hijacking of their religion?

[greenberetTFS]

Originally Posted by Sigaba

Source is here.


Call me crazy, but for some reason I have doubts about the Muslim world's commitment to the honor of their daughters and sisters.

Where is the great alleged silent majority of Muslim clerics "around the world" standing up to decry the alleged hijacking of their religion?

Sigaba,

Your right on target,where are they?

Big Teddy

[Saoirse]

Good for Sarkozy! However, I am on board with most of you in saying that legislating what we can/cannot wear is treading in precarious waters. I wonder if there will be riots over this?

Originally Posted by PRB

Excellent decision and a popular one in Europe these days.....if they don't like it go back to an Islamic society...
Why, in Gods name, do people attempt to replicate that which they ran away from in the first place?

PRB, at the risk of sounding like I have put on the "tinfoil hat", I don't see them as "running away" as much as I see them as "invading". But I do agree with ya 100%. I saw so much of it living in NYC and NEVER got used to it, always noticed and it always tore me up (especially at work).

[Sigaba]

Originally Posted by Saoirse

Good for Sarkozy! However, I am on board with most of you in saying that legislating what we can/cannot wear is treading in precarious waters. I wonder if there will be riots over this?

IIRC, France has a history of mandating/encouraging/facilitating/ the assimilation of foreign cultures under the rubric of French nationalism.

During World War I and after, African American soldiers were surprised by what they perceived to be a higher level of racial tolerance as they were regarded as Americans.

I agree that, here in the U.S., standards of dress legislated from the top down would be a non starter. However, there are signs, such as school districts adopting dress codes and uniforms, that a bottom up approach might be welcomed on a case by case basis.

And there's still the power of American mass culture and its persistent message: conform, conform, conform.

[Richard]

And there's still the power of American mass culture and its persistent message: conform, conform, conform.

Only acceptable if it gives the appearance that one is being non-conforming...

Richard's $.02