France Bans the Burqa
Joy Close, Staff Writer
France has passed a law ban
ning the wearing of burqas and other
full body coverings often worn by
Muslim women, according to an ar
ticle written by David Gauthier-Villars
and Charles Forelle in the September
15 issue of The Wall Street Journal.
The bill passed with votes in support
246 to 1. In the article, Gauthier-Vil
lars and Forelle quote French Presi
dent Nicholas Sarkozy as having said
last year that he believes the burqa is
“a sign of enslavement and debase
ment.” Women found ignoring the
ban can be issued a maximum fine of
€150, or $190, and may also be asked
to attend classes on what the French
government is calling “republican val
ues.” In addition, those who encour
age others to ignore the ban may have
to spend up to a year in prison or pay
a maximum fine of €30,000.
Although many find the bill
an infringement on the religious
rights of Muslim women, France is
not the only country that is cracking
down on external expressions of the
Muslim faith. According to Gauthier-
Villars and Forelle, Switzerland has
banned the building of minarets, the
tower sections of Muslim mosques,
and Belgium and Spain are following
France in banning Muslim apparel
like burqas and other
coverings. Even Sweden,
often considered a fairly
tolerant country, is push
ing to pass a bill that en
courages Muslims within
its borders “to integrate
more.”
Mohammed
Beyakhles, a member
of the human-rights
group United Against
Islamophobia, shares
the opinion of many that
the passing of the burqa
ban is the government’s
way of putting a “veil
on social and economic
problems.” Many Mus
lims see the banning of
the burqa as a “populist
ploy aimed at stigmatiz
ing France’s six million
Muslims - Europe’s largest Muslim com
munity.”
According to Gauthier-Villars
and Forelle in their article on the burqa
ban, when the ban was first introduced in
the French parliament last year, a radical
North-African Muslim group threatened
France in messages found on Islamic
websites. This July, a French citizen was
taken hostage and killed by a member of
al Qaeda in Mali.
Minutes after the
ban was passed
in France, an
anonymous caller
announced that
the Eiffel Tower
was a terrorist
target. Due the
call’s proximity
to September 11,
the threat was
taken seriously
and the Eiffel
Tower was evacu
ated.
Muslim Mer-
image from http;//wvm.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE55L2YV2009o622
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