[L-I] french headscarf ban

I wrote an op-ed piece in a recent PWW about the french secularism law, the
text is at the bottom for those who don't want to click this link:

http://pww.org/article/articleview/4895/1/205/

Here are some articles, after the fact, as a sort of "I told you so" on my
part:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/3539311.stm (arson attacks on French
mosques)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3517894.stm (threat of attack on France
over headscarf ban)

Thoughts on the article itself are welcome, I am interested to see a wider
view from the left on it, as many of this ban's supporters in france were on
the left.


What's behind the French headscarf ban
Author: Cian Dolan
People's Weekly World Newspaper, 03/04/04 11:57

Since Sept. 11 the spotlight has been on religion as a potential cause of
divisions and conflict. Governments are divided on how best to deal with
religious freedoms and the religious minorities within their borders; I hope
that none take France's example.

The French government has decided that any form of religious symbolism in
schools contravenes the separation of church and state - the secularism that
is one of the founding principles of the French republic. The religious
symbols that are banned from schools by a law passed last month include
Muslim headscarves, Jewish yarmulkes and Sikh turbans.

This in itself may sound like a good idea to many of us, especially here in
the U.S. where the line between church and state has become increasingly
blurred under the Bush administration. However this decision was not taken
simply to buttress French secularism.

It is estimated that 11 percent of the French population is Muslim. To put
this in perspective, according to the U.S. Census, 13 percent of the U.S.
population is African American. Clearly, Muslims are a sizable minority
within France.

2004 marks the 20th anniversary of marches and demonstrations in 1984 by
predominantly Muslim immigrants seeking equal rights and citizenship within
France. This year, demonstrations took place in France and around the world
protesting the passing of this new law, echoing in many ways the message of
two decades ago.

The language used by some French politicians to describe this law is not the
language of equality and secularism; it is the language of appeasement of
the far right. The former education minister who chaired the commission that
made the recommendations on the new law said there are "without any doubt
forces in France that are trying to destabilize the republic, and it's time
for the republic to react." Surely schoolgirls in veils or Jewish youths
wearing skullcaps are not enough to destabilize the entire French nation. It
is obvious that there is much more going on here.

Thinly veiled prejudices can be heard from non-political supporters of the
law as well, like French philosopher Elisabeth Badinter, who said, "You
cannot denounce what has been going on Afghanistan while tolerating the veil
in Europe - even if women claim they are wearing it voluntarily." Instantly
this law ceases to be about secularism, and becomes a way to equate
traditionalist Muslims in the West with the Taliban and Islamic extremism.

The unspoken message from many is that the West must save these misguided
children. This legislation may in fact have the opposite effect of the one
intended, and push Muslim youths away from the French public school system
altogether and into private religious schools, thus damaging the very
integration it purports to assist.

It is no coincidence that this law was passed close to regional elections in
France, and a year before national elections. Immigration is a big issue in
France, and since Sept. 11 Muslims in particular have become a soft target.
France's Muslim population is generally poor, the children and grandchildren
of people who emigrated from France's former colonies to work as laborers.
The families of these laborers are still struggling to deal with the poverty
and discrimination that they themselves suffered. It is all too easy to
scapegoat such a disadvantaged group.

In 2002 Jean Marie le Pen caused a huge stir in French politics by winning
almost 17 percent of the vote in France's presidential elections and
qualifying for the second round of voting. Le Pen, the leader of the French
National Front, is an outright bigot and racist who has described the Nazi
gas chambers as "a detail of history" and has stated, "Yes, I do believe in
the inequality of races." In 2000 le Pen was barred from the European
Parliament for assaulting a French Socialist candidate running in French
elections in 1997.

2002 also saw an assassination attempt against President Jacques Chirac by a
gunman associated with neo-Nazi groups.

That a group as far to the right as the National Front can gain such support
within France, and become the second largest political party, points to deep
divisions within French society, and deeply held prejudices and mistrust
between its different communities. It is also no coincidence that the
language used by more mainstream politicians to describe the law enforcing
secularism is echoed by statements by le Pen, who is always glad to speak
out against "the promotion of Islam in our country, with its long Christian
tradition."

President Chirac would do well to pay close attention to the words of Trevor
Phillips, chairman of the UK's Commission for Racial Equality. Writing
recently in the Guardian, Phillips wrote of the hope by some that "by
appeasing racism, they'll make it go away," but as he goes on to say, "This
is a beast with an insatiable appetite."

Cian Dolan is a Young Communist League member and community activist. He can
be reached at [email protected].


_______________________________________________
Leninist-International mailing list
[email protected]
To change your options or unsubscribe go to:
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international