should headscarf be banned in schools ?

[AcrobatMan]

of all countries, IRAN...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3343119.stm

i can understand England or USA or Canada or any such countries ... but .. iran thinks france will not be liberal or equal if this law is approved.. now that is laughable.

 

[bonoman]

In my high school (Catholic school) there was a Muslim girl that was wearing a headscarve. There is no hats or headgear allowed in our school. They made this rule because they said gangs and other groups use it to recognize others.

Now, many people believed that this girl should remove her scarve. A) because its a Catholic school and B) no headgear was allowed for anyone.

I wont give my opinion, but i'd like to hear yours.

 

[AcrobatMan]

Bonoman

I dont agree with A)

I think all schools should be secular. even if its a catholic school it should give no preference or non-preference to anyone irrespective of the religion. the rules should be made by secular minded people of the society and once its made, that should be followed .

And in case if someone is allowed to wear head-scarf because of religion.. then it SHOULDNOT disallow others who want to use hats or something like that for FASHION or anything like that.


- AcrobatMan

 

[verte76]

I do not agree with banning the headscarf for religious reasons. I don't like strictly secular state policies. The French have always had screwy policies as per their Muslim population and colonies, IMO. I would not classify Islamic headscarves as a security threat or whatever. To many Muslim women not wearing a headscarf is like going nude.

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

IMO there's a huge difference between a woman choosing to wear a headcovering as a matter of religious conviction and a guy choosing to wear a baseball cap as a fashion statement.

What's next? Forbidding people to wear wedding rings because for many people marriage has religious conotations?

 

[bonoman]

You may not agree with Catholic schools but they are approved by the gov't so your opinion is void, in this case.

You could also argue, like many did, that having a headscarve makes you part of a group, much like a colored hat.

I had a friend who had a horrible scar on his head from when he was a child and was iunable to grow hair on his body. He allways wore a hat so as not to show his scar, they disallowed that as well and he left the school. The pricipal that was the head of the school for these 1 1/2 years was moved and then hats were allowed.

 

[verte76]

I'm not sure if you know that I'm a practicing Catholic. If I found out that my parish had forbidden headscarves at our school, I'd tell them I didn't like this. Perhaps the point is moot because we don't have any Muslim kids at our school. Birmingham has a very small Muslim community; about half our Arab community is actually Christian and most of these are either Byzantine Melchite or Maronite, both in communion with the Vatican. I do not agree with the policies for the Catholic schools in France.
*back to new Jean Sasson book*

 

[FizzingWhizzbees]

You may not agree with Catholic schools but they are approved by the gov't so your opinion is void, in this case.

You could also argue, like many did, that having a headscarve makes you part of a group, much like a colored hat.

I had a friend who had a horrible scar on his head from when he was a child and was iunable to grow hair on his body. He allways wore a hat so as not to show his scar, they disallowed that as well and he left the school. The pricipal that was the head of the school for these 1 1/2 years was moved and then hats were allowed.

For the record, I have no objection to Catholic (or any other faith) schools. However, people have the right to disagree with the government and so it's silly to say that a person's opinion is "void" because it differs from that of the government.

I also think that your school should have made an exception to the no headgear rule for the friend you talked about. Just as they should also make an exception for students who wish to wear a headcovering in accordance with their religious beliefs.

 

[verte76]

For the record, I have no objection to Catholic (or any other faith) schools. However, people have the right to disagree with the government and so it's silly to say that a person's opinion is "void" because it differs from that of the government.

Absolutely. The government is always capable of screwing up. This headscarf ban is a perfect example.

 

[AcrobatMan]

IMO there's a huge difference between a woman choosing to wear a headcovering as a matter of religious conviction and a guy choosing to wear a baseball cap as a fashion statement.

i agree but i think we still differ

 

[AcrobatMan]

i believe the school policies should be consistent.

 

[DrTeeth]

So parliament will be voting about this today, and it looks like they're going through with this nonsense. From CNN

PARIS, France (AP) -- Critics of a proposed ban on Muslim head scarves in French schools, which parliament votes on Tuesday, say it could encourage the Islamic radicalism the law is intended to stave off.

The government is expected to receive strong support for the bill in a vote Tuesday in the National Assembly. The measure would then go to the Senate for debate March 2-3.

And just when you think you couldn't be any more pissed off than you are now, you read about the "fight" the opposition put up against these ideas.

In search of a wide margin of victory, the party agreed Thursday to a last-minute amendment by the Socialists calling for an evaluation of the law's language a year after it takes effect -- and replacing "conspicuous" with "visible" symbols if need be. The Socialists think the law would be easier to apply if it pertains to "visible" religious symbols. The governing party also added an amendment to ensure dialogue precedes any sanction -- another Socialist suggestion.

So an evaluation of the law's language and a little talk before you get kicked out of your school. Way to go France

 

[nbcrusader]

A Little More Insight On This Issue

Anti-Semitism infuses scarf debate

Head scarves were banned by administrators at the public school in this Paris suburb long before France began its current round of tortured debate on the issue.

While the public discussion focuses on France?s vaunted secularism, on women?s rights and the definitions of Frenchness, racism is a silent but powerful undercurrent propelling the debate.

It?s an undercurrent that Sarah Aguado, a precocious 13-year-old, knows well. As the only Jew in a school with a large Muslim minority, she was repeatedly insulted and attacked and finally forced to flee.

 

[verte76]

There have been a number of shocking anti-Semitic crimes in France recently. I don't think they are addressing the problem of religious/ethnic intolerance the right way. They're just trying to sweep the whole issue under the rug.

 

[intedomine]

head scarves should be banned, but so should those christian crosses around the neck and those jewish hat things.....why?

because religon needs to be curbed before any more wars break out

 

[BVS]

head scarves should be banned, but so should those christian crosses around the neck and those jewish hat things.....why?

because religon needs to be curbed before any more wars break out

So expression of belief causes war?

 

[nbcrusader]

War breaks out for "secular" reasons, probably more often that for religious reasons.

 

[verte76]

Banning headscarves isn't going to stop any wars or terrorist acts. If anything, it's sending the wrong message to Moslem countries and people. This makes me really angry.

 

[nbcrusader]

It would be interesting to see the Muslim perspective on France's legislation, considering the large Muslim population in France.

 

[nbcrusader]

From Aljazzeer

France's main Muslim groups were split over a looming ban on Islamic headscarves in public schools, with their nominal head branding pro-hijab protests as dangerous but other leaders approving them.


Dalil Bubakr, the moderate chairman of the French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM), struggled to rally Muslims behind his warning not to join protest marches planned for 17 January by several more fringe groups.

But leaders of the two largest groups in the CFCM, a body Paris helped launch last year to bring France's five million Muslims more into the mainstream, refused to denounce the protests against a law they say is discriminatory.

The dispute was shaping up as a big challenge to Bubakr, rector of the Grand Mosque of Paris, and a potentially damaging political embarrassment for President Jacques Chirac and fellow conservatives who imposed Bubakr as head of the CFCM.

"I warn my fellow Muslims, brothers and sisters," Bubakr said in arguing against the protests after the CFCM leadership met Education Minister Luc Ferry to lobby against the veil law.

"In the current climate of tense relations between Muslims and society in Europe in general and France in particular, we must play the democratic game."

 

[verte76]

I'd demonstrate against this if I were in France. I'd wear my St. Jude medal to the demonstration. My Moslem friends here are absolutely outraged. This is awful.