Chirac presses on with headscarf ban

This mornings poll showed 69% for it, so I guess
it will be. Sort of silly since it is not a big
problem, few Moslem girls wore the scarves and some
mostly out of rebellion against authority, not so
much religious conviction.

The opinion of prison inmates is summed up in our
bimonthly newsletter-this is about prisoners---

*****

"Also going on right now are animated discussions over the French
government's proposed law banning the Islamic scarf in the schools. The
Arab Muslim population in the prison is having its usual reaction, seeing
this as yet another example of Islamophobia and of how the Jews control
everything. The native French have extremely varied positions. The
leftist Action Directe terrorist wants uniforms for all the public school
children, and wants all religious schools closed. (Barry says he's rather
anti-Semitic.) On the other hand, the libertarian Brewmaster feels they
ought to be able to wear whatever they want."

"And then there's Maurice, whom we call "My Rights", because that is his
primary and constant concern. "My Rights" is native French, but has
converted to Islam. He has just been transferred back to Clairvaux from
Ensisheim, in Alsace, because at that prison, in reaction to the scarf
affair, he started a provocation by getting guys to dress in djellabahs as
an "ostentatious sign" of their Islamism. Barry says he is trying to do
the same thing at Clairvaux, and he has a few of the Gremlins following his
lead. But Barry doesn't think it will last. The Gremlins are far too
interested in fashionable clothing like Nike and Adidas, and one of the
Gremlins who has taken this up isn't even a good Muslim - he drinks. Barry
thinks if the administration is smart and just ignores it, the whole
movement will wither and die."

******

The Gremlins are self-named, banlieue Arab young men who, in prison,
delight in stirring up trouble for the guards and administration.
Fortunately there is no particular problem between the prisoners.
The Brewmaster is an expert at pruno making.

Earl

*******



Chirac presses on with headscarf ban

Jessica Aldred and agencies
Wednesday December 17, 2003

The French president, Jacques Chirac, is to ask parliament to pass a law
banning Islamic headscarves and other religious insignia in French state
schools, he announced this afternoon.

If the law is passed, from next year students will not be allowed to wear
headscarves, Jewish skull caps or large Christian crosses.

But "discreet" medallions and pendants which merely confirm a person's
religious faith would be allowed.

The president's decision comes as a response to a study released last week
that proposed the banning of "conspicuous religious signs" in schools.

"In all conscience, I consider that the wearing of dress or symbols which
conspicuously show religious affiliation should be banned in schools," Mr
Chirac said in a televised speech, according to the news agency Reuters.

"For that, a law is necessary," he added, urging parliament to pass
legislation for the new school year in September 2004.

Mr Chirac also rejected proposals to mark the holy days of minority faiths
with new school holidays, noting the French school calendar already included
many days off.

The study, released last week, examined a range of issues relating to
religion and the state in France.

Although the report looked into the wider question of French secularism,
debate on the issue has centred around the wearing of Islamic headscarves in
schools.

France has the largest Muslim population within the EU, and several thousand
teenage girls are estimated to wear headscarves to classes.

The issue has already led to a number of cases where girls have been
suspended or expelled for wearing headscarves to school.

Religious leaders have said the ban would mainly target Islamic students and
would victimise the country's 5 million Muslims.

The headscarf proposal by former French minister Bernard Stasi and his
commission sent shockwaves through the centre-right government and has
attracted worldwide criticism.

The commission consulted a wide cross-section of public opinion, including
teachers, religious leaders, sociologists and politicians before handing in
the report to the president last Thursday.

Related articles

Earl Evleth wrote:

This mornings poll showed 69% for it,

This was on UK news radars today, and there was a protest outside the
French Embassy in London by a muslim group- small-scale by the sounds of
it. In an odd poll, the BBC reported that 51% of _UK_ muslims said they
would support such a laww if it were introduced in the UK, and a vast
majority said they would obey such a law. If the French really _are_
consistent across the board, then in a way I have less misgivings with
it, but I _do_ have serious misgivings. Religion and culture and
countries are inextricably linked, and inevitably change over time. If
Chirac believes French culture is truly secular, then he might want to
consider ripping down Notre Dame etc., or at least turning them into
shopping malls or art galleries.

David

--
David Horne- (website under reconstruction)
davidhorne (at) davidhorne (dot) co (dot) uk

In article
1g64oqq.1miv5rct19ne7N%this_address_is_for_spam@y ahoo.co.uk,
(David Horne) wrote:

Earl Evleth wrote:

This mornings poll showed 69% for it,

This was on UK news radars today, and there was a protest outside the
French Embassy in London by a muslim group- small-scale by the sounds of
it. In an odd poll, the BBC reported that 51% of _UK_ muslims said they
would support such a laww if it were introduced in the UK, and a vast
majority said they would obey such a law. If the French really _are_
consistent across the board, then in a way I have less misgivings with
it, but I _do_ have serious misgivings. Religion and culture and
countries are inextricably linked, and inevitably change over time. If
Chirac believes French culture is truly secular, then he might want to
consider ripping down Notre Dame etc., or at least turning them into
shopping malls or art galleries.

David

Notre Dame is well assimilated into French society. The same can not be
said for the Muslims. There is a strong concern about the lack of
assimilation and the significant % of the population they will come to
represent. I think the level of assimilation is higher in the UK and
still higher in the U.S...

This could be a serious attack on the French and western culture.

jay
Wed, Dec 17, 2003


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Legend insists that as he finished his abject...
Galileo muttered under his breath: "Nevertheless, it does move."