France: Is Banning The Burqa A Good Idea?

On Tuesday, the French parliament called the burqa “a challenge to national values”, and backed the ban of the full Islamic veil from public places such as schools, hospitals, government offices and transport systems. The 200 pages report, put together by a parliamentary committee, was made public on Tuesday.

“The wearing of the full veil is a challenge to our Republic. This is unacceptable,” said the report. The debate about the garment was started last June by President Sarkozy, when the French leader said that “the burqa is not welcome in France, and is a symbol of the subservience of women that was not in line with the French Republic’s core value of equality.”

The latest poll indicates that most French voters support a ban on the burqa. The burqa ban has been a divisive issue among French politicians. On the left, some say banning the full veil from public places doesn’t go far enough, while others say any ban would stigmatize and further antagonize France large Muslim community. On the right, the current leader of the ruling UMP party, Jean-Francois Cope, said he would propose his own bill which would provide for a complete ban with an “on the spot fine for offenders”.

The burqa is a controversial issue in France because of the symbolic behind the full veil, but in reality only about 1,900 women wear a form of the all covering veil in France. Despite what is usually reported by the US media, a large majority of the 5 million Muslims residing in France are secular. Most French Muslims live in the areas around Paris and Lyon, and France has around 1,900 Mosques or prayer sites with only 20 of them sporting minarets. According to a recent poll, only 23 percent of French Muslims go to the Mosque on Fridays, the Muslim holy day.

However, the French parliament’s decision, if it is finalized in a law, could increase tensions between the Muslim community and other communities in France.

“The ban is about sending a message to the Muslim community. The message is clear to the average Muslim woman. If you want to go down the route of practicing your religion here is how we are going to treat you in the future. Also most French citizens, Muslims included, are for freedom- the freedom to practice your religion, the freedom to dress however you want to dress, whether that be a miniskirt or a burqa. This will reduce the overall freedom of French citizens,” said French Muslim author, Marwan Muhammed in an interview with Al Jazeera.