Reflection 07: La Préservation de la Liberté?—France and the Politics of the "Burqa Ban"

Largely unbeknownst to Americans, a fierce battle has been raging in France over what must or mustn't cover their heads of French Muslim women. The implementation of a 2011 law that banned Islamic headwear, from the hijab to the shalya to the burqa, has sent shock waves across Europe and the Middle East alike. Officially, the French law does not name Islamic practices per se. In fact, it is so broad that all religious imagery is banned in certain French public spaces, such as schools. Still, no one is under any illusion that the motivation for the law was the Islamic practice of female head coverings, as well as the growing Arab immigrant presence in French society. From the French perspective, the practice of religious scarves on women is said to be incongruent with the country's values of "liberté," "égalité," and "fraternité"—though it is believed that less than three thousand of the country's five million Muslims actually wear traditional head coverings. Meanwhile, French Muslims feel the ban is nothing short of a government-sactionioned persecution of their faith. (It  also bears mentioning that the Qur'an does not officially require women to cover their heads and/or faces.) Should France ban Islamic headwear for women? Does France have a right to infringe on the religious freedoms of an immigrant culture if it finds some of their values do not align with their own? Does the headwear ban protect, even liberate, Islamic women or might it violate their basic human rights? Finally, could such a ban ever happen in the United States? Why or why not?

Include at least three of the following pieces in your discussion:

• "In Graphics: Muslim Veils" (BBC News)
• "Notes on France’s Ban-the-Burqa Debate" (Reuters)
• "The French, the Veil, and the Look" (New York Times)
• "Opinion: France's Burqa Ban: A Brave Step that We Muslims Should Welcome" (Christian Science Monitor)
• "US Report Criticises French Islamic Veil Ban" (France24)
• "Muslims Worry About Broader France Headscarf Ban" (Associated Press)

Requirements:

• MLA Style
• Two full pages in length
• Works cited page

Due: Th 04.11