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Journalism of Courage
When the French government decided in 2004 to ban the Muslim headscarf in state schools and other public buildings,it set off a heated debate over religious expression and womens rights in a secular state. Now Nicolas Sarkozy has sparked another by calling the burqa,a head-to-toe Islamic garment,a sign of subjugation of debasement that is not welcome on French territory.
Mr Sarkozys comments came after a group of deputies,led by André Gerin,a Communist,had called for a parliamentary inquiry into the wearing of the burqa,with a view to a possible ban. This would mean in all public places,since it is already banned in state institutions under the 2004 law. The deputies called burqas veritable walking prisons.
Now that Mr Sarkozy has publicly condemned the burqa,the chances of a ban have risen sharply. Parliament has launched a cross-party mission to report back in six months. In fact,few women wear the full garment in France. But mayors of cities with big Muslim populations report a steady increase in numbers,due not to immigration but to its adoption by French-born women 8211; often from North African countries where the burqa is not traditionally worn.
Mohammed Moussaoui,head of the official French Council of the Muslim Faith,has suggested that the inquiry would itself stigmatise Islam. A ban might be misunderstood abroad,and not only in the Muslim world. In his recent speech in Cairo,Barack Obama said that it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practising religion as they see fit 8211; for instance,by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear.
Not so,say many French politicians 8211; including such prominent Muslims as Fadela Amara,the cities minister. The founder of a womens-rights group,Ms Amara has called the burqa a coffin that kills individual liberties,and a sign of the political exploitation of Islam.
The Economist Newspaper Limited 2009
