Attila Iftikhar (Sweden), 19 December 2003

on The Headscarf Debate à la Française, by Bernhard Schmid

The French government decision to ban hijab in public educational institutions have created both praise and criticism of President Chirac. The supporters of this ban believe that all religious symbols, in particular the hijab challenge the secular traditions of the French republic.

Hence, the secular order must be protected even at the cost of personal liberties. The opponents fear this will further marginalize the already pressurized Muslim minority interests and lead to a possible radicalisation of the French society.

Bernard Stasi, head of the commission evaluating the secular-religious relations praised the Turkish secularists for upholding the ban on hijab/ "turban" in public institutions. Turkey is in many respect a role model for France, commented Ms. Geye Patek, a ethnic Turk member of the Stasi commission. However, the past Turkish secularist harshness have created considerable discomfort in the Turkish population.

After all, some 60 percent of Turkish women wear the hijab and a continuously oversensitive approach on the hijab matter led to important political changes such as the victory of the AK Party. The wives of PM Erdogan, FM Gul, Speaker Arinc are all proud hijab wearing ladies.

In France this ban could mean a further alienation of the Muslim minority population. After the 911 tragedy, the European Muslim populations have been exposed to serious challenges and considerable Islamophobia. True, on average some 70 percent (statistic: Eurpolit Gallup 2003) of Muslim women in Europe don`t wear the hijab, but a ban means this majority will most probably be loyally supporting their hijab-wearing sisters in an environment considered threatening to the Muslim faith.

The secular ambitions of the French government may be noble. The question is if a categorical ban on hijab in public will facilitate a polarization of Muslims and will this lead to more private religious schools and possibly birth of more Euro-Islamic militants? A better solution could have been to disallow girls under the age of 16 to wear the hijab in primary schools. This would allow the girls to be mature when taking a decision whether to wear or not a scarf. The coming months and years will tell if the French government actions were successful or a failure.

Yours,

Atilla Iftikhar
Researcher, Eurpolit Gallup