School doors open for 12 million French children Thursday, but there is far more at stake this year than back-to-school jitters. An already contentious ban on Muslim head scarves and other religious signs faced its first test in France's public schools - under the cloud of Islamic radicals holding two French hostages in Iraq to press their demand that the law be scrapped. "In the circumstances we are facing, I hope this return to school will take place under the sign of fraternity," Education Minister Francois Fillon pleaded said Wednesday. The law was one of the most divisive issues for Frenchmen in recent times, and no one was sure whether Muslim girls who cover their heads would defy it or compromise their beliefs to stay in school.
| Depends -- any Islamic hard boyz hangin' around the schools? |
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