sexta-feira, dezembro 12, 2003
Let them wear scarves
Acerca da polémica sobre o uso do véu islâmico nas escolas francesas.
President Chirac has said he will announce next week whether he favours a ban, though he has already hinted that he does. As for the political sop of the extra holidays, they would appear to fall into the same category of religious proselytism as the headscarf.
If he advocates a ban, M Chirac will please most French men and women, who believe that there are too many immigrants and that not enough is being done to defend traditional French values. Such a step could help the president and his party in the run-up to regional elections in March.
Much less certain, however, is that it will turn French Muslims into better citizens. It is just as likely to incite them to assert their religious identity in opposition to the government.
America - whose constitution also enshrines the separation of church and state - allows Muslim schoolgirls to wear the hijab. That, surely, is a wiser approach than militant secularism.
posted by Miguel Noronha 2:26 da tarde
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