Islamic Veil Controversy In France

In France, there is an ongoing social, political, and legal debate concerning the wearing of the hijab and other forms of Islamic coverings in public. The cultural framework of the controversy can be traced to France's history of colonization in North Africa, but escalated into a significant public debate in 1989 when three girls were suspended from school for refusing to remove their headscarves. That incident, referred to in France as ''l'affaire du foulard'' (the scarf affair) or ''l'affaire du voile'' (the veil affair), initially focused the controversy on the wearing of the hijab in French public schools. Because of the wide-ranging social debates caused by the controversy, ''l'affaire du foulard'' has been compared to the Dreyfus affair in its impact on French culture.

Since 1989, the debate has grown to include the wearing of Islamic coverings on public beaches, when playing sports, and by politicians. The larger debate involves the concept of ''laïcité'' (secularism), the place of Muslim women in French society, differences between Islamic doctrine and Islamic tradition, the conflict between communitarianism and the French policy of minority assimilation, discussions of the " Islamist threat" to French society, and Islamophobia.

According to several researchers, the 2004 headscarf ban "reduces the secondary educational attainment of Muslim girls and affects their trajectory in the labor market and family composition in the long run."

History

The initial ''affaire du foulard'' was sparked on 18 September 1989 when three female Moroccan students were suspended for refusing to remove their head scarves in class at Collège Gabriel Havez (a middle school) in Creil. The students reached an agreement with the school on 9 October 1989, under which they wore the headscarves on school grounds but removed them once they entered their classrooms. On 10 October 1989, the girls again refused to take off their scarves when in class. The girls' actions received more and more press coverage, and Muslim advocacy organizations became involved. In November 1989, the Conseil d'État ruled that the scarf's quasi-religious expression was compatible with the ''laïcité'' of public schools, as secularism statutes applied to the schools themselves, not the pupils. That December, minister of education Lionel Jospin issued a statement declaring that educators were responsible for allowing or banning the wearing of the scarf in classes on a case-by-case basis."Beneath the Veil: Muslim Girls and Islamic Headscarves in Secular France" by Nicky Jones, Macquarie Law Journal, 2009

In September 1994, a new memorandum, the "François Bayrou memo", was issued, delineating the difference between "discreet" religious symbols able to be brought into classrooms, and "ostentatious" religious symbols (including the hijab), which were to be forbidden in public establishments. In October of that year, students at Lycée Saint-Exupéry (a high school) in Mantes-la-Jolie organized a protest in favor of the right to wear the veil in classrooms. In November, 24 veiled students were suspended from the same high school as well as from Lycée Faidherbe in Lille.

Between 1994 and 2003, around 100 female students were suspended or expelled from middle and high schools for wearing the scarf in class. In nearly half of these cases, their exclusions were annulled by the French courts.

Scholars have drawn connections between France's regulations on headscarves and historical colonialism, as well as France's difficulties in assimilating the Muslim population into society. Joan Scott argued that right-wing parties (including Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front) used the controversies to conflate North African immigrants with Islamic fundamentalism.

Political and cultural context

Political positions

The most debated point is whether or not students have the right to wear the scarf in classes in public establishments such as primary and secondary schools, as well as universities. Meanwhile, the controversy has contributed to discussions of the principle of secularism, which is the foundation of the 1905 law of separation of church and state in France. The two principal positions that have emerged are:

* A complete preservation of the "principle of secularism" as an element of freedom. This is the position taken most notably by Jacques Chirac as well as by certain leftists such as Jean-Pierre Chevènement.
* An abandonment of the principle of secularity for the benefit of total religious freedom, and for the recognition of religious communities. This Anglo-Saxon-based community model was defended most notably by Nicolas Sarkozy, as well as some leftists and certain Greens.

This debate has thus contributed in blurring the limits between the left and right on the traditional spectrum in France, and has revealed divergences on new political levels, especially between "republicans" (proponents of intervention by the secular Republic) and " liberals" (in an older sense of the French term referring to those who support the liberties of the individual).

Muslim tradition

The tradition of the headscarf itself has been in existence since before the advent of Islam, and depictions of Mary, mother of Jesus, show her wearing a hair covering. In Orthodox Judaism, many married women cover their hair with a form of headscarf, called a "tichel".

The importance assigned to head covering varies, from that of colorful head scarves that do not conceal much hair in sub-Saharan Africa, to head scarves that cover the hair and neck to the extent that it should cover all hair, as worn in much of the world, to clothes that cover parts of the face (Yemen), and in Saudi Arabia, the entire body, must be covered by the veil (burqa), as is the case in some areas of Pakistan.

In most Muslim societies, this obligation is not enforced by law. In Egypt and Turkey, for example, wearing the scarf is controversially forbidden in certain professional contexts.

Motivations of French Muslims who wear the scarf

The wearing of the scarf or hijab in France, and in the main countries of origin of French Muslims (Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Turkey), is a relatively recent phenomenon which has been coined "the new veiling" by A.E. MacLeod.

France-centered arguments were voiced at the time of this controversy in order to justify students' wearing of the scarf in public schools:
* "Respectability" and "discretion." News, movies, and music aimed at young men often contain stereotypical "easy girl" characters who are sexually taken at will and who are always un-scarfed.Description
of musical clips containing such stereotypes. Numerous analysts



, another exampl

) and coupled with 41% of French in an
ipsos survey
) consider the image of women in advertising to be degrading. This leads many to entertain the idea that women who show their hair are not respectable and are offered (or are offering themselves) sexually to everyone. More generally, advertising and the media present a standard model of how Western women may be assumed to be. This vision of Western women offered by media may lead French Muslim women to wear the veil to affirm their respectability and gain independence from their families who might otherwise be hesitant to allow them that freedom.This argument ("the veil gets them out of the house") is taken in "Le Foulard et la République", by Françoise Gaspard and Farhad Khosrokhavar, ed. La Découverte, 1995. Some veiled women, while very independent, are using the traditional argument for discretion in order to insist on their right to wear the veil at school.Example of such a course: sisters Alma and Lila Lévy seen in the newspape
"L'Humanité"
. Sociologist Françoise Gaspard speaks of a "demanded veil".
* Muslim identity in the face of what is considered French bigotry against Muslims.There are no objective givens on the level of racism felt by Muslims in France. As far as French people in general,
survey
carried out in September 2003, by the BSA Institute gives an idea of the level of racism in France, real or felt. According to this survey, 87% of French people consider racism to be widespread in their country (see p.569 of the French version of the report). However, 14% of French people express racist ideas (p.576). Wearing the scarf is also a way for French Muslim women to guard their identity.
* Avoidance of violence in poor neighborhoods, where unveiled women are not safe since they may be targeted for attack by Islamic morality patrols (a concept of the Wahhabi school of thought, a minority which is criticized by other schools of Islam).

According to a 2008 study by Stephen Croucher in the ''Journal of Intercultural Communication Research'', "Muslims deem the Islamic veil or hijab to be a fundamental part of their identity." Muslims believe that the hijab or veil is symbol of Islam that should not fall under the French idea of secularism. Thus, many French-Muslims claimed that the law banning the veil in public schools was aimed at "forcefully integrating" the Muslim population by restricting their identity.

There also exists a notable minority of French non-Muslims who have expressed support for the right to wear the veil in public schools.There is no internet site representing this group. On the following sites, there can be found passages by and interviews with members of this group, entirely or partially on the scarf

tout particulièrement les quatre derniers paragraphes

Motivations of French people opposed to allowing hijabs to be worn in schools

Feminist arguments

According to some feminist groups, as well as some human rights advocacy groups, wearing the scarf can symbolize a woman's submission to men.
The theme of the scarf as a symbol of submission of the woman to the man is found in many a discourse. Among them are:

"Les Chiennes de Garde": "It's the symbol of the oppression of women, of a demonization of the body and women's sexuality"
communiqué
, 7 March 2005),

"Les Penelopes": "Veiled, they are property of masters who designate them, to others and to the girls themselves, as that which is forbidden."
article
published on the website of this association)

la Ligue des Droits de l'Homme: "The LDH recalls its hostility to the veil, a symbol of oppression for many women"
communiqué
, 6 January 1997).
These views are still held despite women being made free individuals from the advent of Islam, where they had previously been inherited property in pre-Islamic cultures.
This is also expressed by individuals:

, novelist of Algerian origin: "The veil is an antiquated alienation",

Sylviane Agacinsky, philosopher: "The veil symbolizes submission to male authority"

It is feared that permitting the veil in schools risks opening the door to other practices that exist in the Muslim world.Among them are:

the burka used in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

arranged marriages that exist, to varying degrees, in many countries of the Muslim world.

female circumcision, practiced by Muslims in 28 countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, but also in Egypt, Oman, Yemen, and the UAE.

It is often speculated that forbidding the hijab would limit freedom. Rather, the argument put forward by some feminists is that the hijab is not a free choice, but a result of social pressures (i.e., if a law does not forbid the practice of wearing the hijab, social pressure may render it obligatory).
This argument is put forward by many, including:

Jean-Louis Debré

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