THE GUARDIAN: In France, unlike the UK, the debate over face-veils hinges on a much-cherished and uniquely French notion: laïcité
When the usually highly articulate Lord Pearson of Rannoch, the leader of the UK Independence Party (Ukip), raised the prospect of banning female face coverings early this year his choice of language summed up the poor level of debate on the subject. "We are not Muslim bashing", the peer said, "but this is incompatible with Britain's values of freedom and democracy." This mix of ugly vernacular and banal generalisation was far from impressive. Rather than convincing people that the burqa (the cloak that covers a woman from head to foot, most often seen in Afghanistan) and the niqab (the more genuinely Islamic veil that conceals a woman's face) were an affront to traditional British values, he merely played into the hands of racists who detest most manifestations of foreign cultures, and especially ones linked – however spuriously – with alien religions.
France, by contrast, is largely pursuing its own burqa and niqab debate within the context of the country's commitment to the secular society, or , as it is referred to on the other side of the Channel. When the country imposed a ban on religious symbols, including the Islamic headscarf, in state schools in 2004, it was not because they weren't French enough, but because they were not secular. A burqa and niqab ban can, according to this reasoning, be imposed outside any nationalistic debate.
That said, in June last year President Nicolas Sarkozy was widely criticised for targeting full-veil wearers as part of his Ukip-style national identity debate. He wanted to attract supporters of the increasingly discredited Front National party to his own cause, declaring both burqas and niqabs to be "an affront to Republican values". Like Ukip, Sarkozy argued that the garments had no basis in Islam, were a threat to gender equality, marginalised women, and endangered public safety because terrorists could use them to hide their identity, or every kind of criminal, from bank robbers to shop lifters, could use them to steal. As Sarkozy told a recent cabinet meeting: "Citizenship should be experienced with an uncovered face. There can be no other solution but a ban in all public places." >>> Nabila Ramdani | Sunday, May 23, 2010
