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| Europe | ||
| Muslim Girls Comply With Head Scarf Ban | ||
| 2004-09-03 | ||
| Despite divisive debate over a new law banning religious signs in the classroom, compliance was widespread as France's public schools opened the fall term, Education Minister Francois Fillon said Thursday. It was easier for 16-year-old Nadia Arabi to remove her Islamic head scarf than to defy the new law, or to risk contempt for breaking a national chain of solidarity for two Frenchmen held hostage by militants in Iraq. Nadia was not alone. But that was seen less as a sign of surrender by conservative Muslims than part of the national effort - with the Islamic community at the forefront - to save two French journalists held by Islamic radicals demanding that the law be scrapped. The French government firmly refused the demand. ``It is clear that the international context has played a non-negligible role'' in the peaceful return to school, Armand Martin, head of Raymond Queneau High School in Villeneuve d'Ascq, told LCI television. His school, outside the northern city of Lille, held the unofficial record for girls wearing Muslim head scarves last year - 58, according the newspaper Le Monde. Fillon said only 240 schoolgirls in all of France showed up in head scarves Thursday, compared to 1,200 counted last year. Only 70 refused to remove their scarves when they walked through the school door, he said. Islamic organizations have been at the heart of a show of solidarity for French efforts to win the release of reporters Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, and Muslim families were reminded of the need for discretion. The Union of Islamic Organizations of France, the leading Muslim fundamentalist organization and a vocal opponent of the law, participated in a delegation of Muslim leaders who went to Iraq on Wednesday. ``We must be responsible,'' one member of the mission, Mohammed Bechari, warned in an interview published Thursday in the newspaper Le Figaro.
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| Posted by:Steve White |
| #14 Jaques Brel High School? Pfffftt! 'Scuse me while I wipe the beer offa my monitor. |
| Posted by: Parabellum 2004-09-03 7:47:23 PM |
| #13 Super Hose, you are right, but also miss the point. The women without Hajibs will be considered whores by those same boys whether they were forced not to wear them or not. So you have the males killing, maiming, and gang raping the females and the Islamic community population growth in France drops significantly. Add to that the fact that France has a bad name in the Islamic world because of this and they are unlikely to see a lot of immigrants anymore. The Muslims will go to England or Germany instead. |
| Posted by: RJ Schwarz 2004-09-03 7:11:15 PM |
| #12 The ban still doesn't address the underlying issues. I'm pretty sure that the gang-rape boys are not going to cease their activities just because the hijab cannot be worn in class. While the French congratulate themselves for their steadfastness, they will fail to notice the hijabs going back on the heads 15 feet from the school bus stop. The problem has been addressed symbolically, by that I mean totally ineffectively. I don't have any brilliant ideas on thug control either, other than jailling perpetrators and in the case of "honor killings" committed to restore "family honor" the entire family could be deported. If the French require replacement workers, we can send them Mexican illegals by the plane-load. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-09-03 4:04:30 PM |
| #11 The reasons are clear -- in the current circumstances of Islamofascist intimidation, dejure permitting the headscarf is defacto making it mandatory. There have been little girls raped by Islamic gangs with the excuse that not wearing a headscarf was making them "prostitutes"...I find myself supporting the ban also. Me, too. For me, the scarf is not a garment-it is a symbol which blares the message that women must be cowed to prove their allegiance to Islam, their worthiness, and their sexual purity. A religion that forces belief is both fragile and abusive. |
| Posted by: jules 187 2004-09-03 3:14:38 PM |
| #10 I've read polls that say most French muslim *men* opposed this ban, but most French muslim *women* supported it. The reasons are clear -- in the current circumstances of Islamofascist intimidation, dejure permitting the headscarf is defacto making it mandatory. There have been little girls raped by Islamic gangs with the excuse that not wearing a headscarf was making them "prostitutes". On my part, since I'm always in favour of freedom in *practice*, not just in theory, I find myself supporting the ban also. Besides little girls and little boys should wear whatever the hell their parents tell them to as long as it is not sexualized Britney paraphernalia. Nah, Shipman, little girls and little boys should wear what the hell the parents tell them only when they are within their parents' care. In school hours they are under the care of the school system and should wear what the school tells them and what the school feels wouldn't cause disruption. If their parents wanted them to go naked to school or wear neonazi t-shirts, that wouldn't be allowed either, I'm quite sure. |
| Posted by: Aris Katsaris 2004-09-03 1:46:01 PM |
| #9 If I were the Muslims I'd change tactics and start forcing the little girls to wear black ski masks to school. Its not religious, it covers the head and face as well as a burka, and it would have a very intimidating effect. |
| Posted by: RJ Schwarz 2004-09-03 12:14:41 PM |
| #8 .com, I'm offended by Muslim males youths throwing acid in faces of Muslim female youths. The hijab, turbans, yamulkes, doo-rags, Amish hats or even NY Yankee ball caps do not offend me. The hijab becomes offensive when it becomes mandatory. If you're national vacation schedule necessitates the import of large numbers of Muslim factory workers, then many of them will probably bring their customs with them. Our Chinese railroad workers certainly remained culturally separate. Many integrated after a period of time, yet our country is not threatened by the continued existence of Chinatowns in most large cities. What cannot be tolerated is lawlessness. The US has imported quite a few lawless elements. We have been much better off once these lawless elements have been attacked. It takes a while. There are still some elements of the Sopranos that are not totally fictional. I think France is making a mistake in addressing the wrong behavior. Jail and deport the thugs and the violent Imans. Let the little girls do their hair as they please. Whether its cultural or religious or whatever, let them be. If you want them to wear something else, then marketing is the answer not a government edict. Besides little girls and little boys should wear whatever the hell their parents tell them to as long as it is not sexualized Britney paraphernalia. The world needs fewer child soldiers, child prostitutes, and child laborers. Sexualized elementary students are not needed either. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-09-03 3:49:43 AM |
| #7 I volunteered in schools that had many muslim children. The young elementary school girls hated the scarves and would rip them off and stuff them into their cubes as soon as they entered the room. The girls who were a bit older, they tended to leave them on. Sine they were all relatively new immigrants - I'm not sure if that was a function of age or length of time in country. |
| Posted by: B 2004-09-03 3:35:18 AM |
| #6 Ok, I'll be the curmudgeon in this poop-fest... Take two steps back, and ask yourself what is going on here? Is this really a serious issue? Of import and worthy of hushed tones and respectful demeanor? Some cloth covering the hair of certain females? You know, there is no end to this shit, right? There are 25,000 more strictures in the Suras and Haddiths that'll have be haggled out, after this one. Some easy ones... Those school menus, segregated public transportation. Segregated classrooms and instructors. Segregated schools. Etc, ad infinitum, ad nauseum. The point is that either you do or you do not cater to religion in your public institutions and social forms. And all on a level playing field - same rules for all, right? Fishy Friday. Headscarves. Smell the same to me. I see quibbles, posturing, and temporary uber-nuanced compromises, not solutions leading to permanent resolution. Announcer: "Congratulations, Mrs Presky! You win!" Mrs Presky: "But, but, it's a bag of shit!" Announcer: "But it's really great shit, Mrs Presky!" Cue organist, roll credits. This is what happens when I don't get the tits I want. ;-) |
| Posted by: .com 2004-09-03 3:01:54 AM |
| #5 .com, maybe for High School. The wig would be enough of a challenging change in to the center of gravity of a young girl. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-09-03 2:36:42 AM |
| #4 SH - Throw in Dolly's tits and you have a deal. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-09-03 2:32:23 AM |
| #3 The wig idea is pretty innovative. I picture a large Dolly Parton coiffe on the elementary school. Khomeni would freak. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2004-09-03 2:28:29 AM |
| #2 I don't know how much of this story is true, especially concerning Muslim solidarity against the kidnappings, but if the French have taken a step toward secularizing Islamic Culture in France...then credit must be given to France for taking steps we would not take in the United States. It is also my understanding that French Police have no compunction about profiling Arab men. There are many ways to skin a cat, and this Islamic cat has more than 9 lives, so if the French work on one technique while we work on another, more power to them. This will take a while to see how this shakes out in France, but if it is effective in the long term then props and thanks will be due to the French for finding something that works. I think that forcing the girls to remove their head-scarfs is terribly symboic and important in this struggle. Fortunately for the girls, they can say and use the excuse that they are only following French law. A win-win for everybody...except for Islamic extremists. Best Wishes, Traveller |
| Posted by: Traveller 2004-09-03 2:26:50 AM |
| #1 Can't the French just cave? Nasers idea about sending them to Algeria is foretelling. How about living in Algeria fool? |
| Posted by: Lucky 2004-09-03 1:57:23 AM |