France, the culture wars over head scarves

This is a ongoing battle in France over the head scarves.

Some wish to ban them in schools or worn by public employees.

Slightly more (49%) of the Muslim women in France were polled
to be AGAINST the wearing of the scarves than for (41%). So
the idea that this is purely a conflict between the Christian
and Muslim communities is not exactly true. There is a lot of
pressure from the Muslim religious right for ALL Muslim women to wear the
scarves. One is not a "good" Muslim girl or woman unless one wears one. The
conflict can also occur within the family with the males backing
the wearing of the scarves, the teenage girls, sometimes their
mothers not. That becomes a problem of parental or husband-wife
authority.

So there has been nasty exchanges within in the same community.

A considerable portion of the young musulmanes are for integration
into French culture and don`t want to be identified with the
backwardness implied by wearing the scarves. So we have
a ³sisterly² conflict. There is no solution to this conflict except
time.

With regard to the ethnic French community, there are a variety
of attitudes opposing the scarf wearing.

1) Some, as with the Front National, are basically
anti-immigrant. Ethnically nationalist, they would like all
foreigners to "go home". That most of the young Arab community
in France were born and raised here has not sank into their
mentalities.

2) Some French are basically conformist. Anybody who is born
here and grows up, must receive a French education, speak
and write in France and behave as French. There is no
particular room for ethnic diversity in this group.

3) Some have a strong republican attitude, anti-clerical.
The nation has a large non-religious majority. They
don`t go to church nor have strong religious beliefs.
For them there should be no religious display, no crosses or head
displays from which a persons religious beliefs are
evident in school or in public service. On the street is
a different thing. There are no Christians, Jews or
Muslims in school for this group.

4) Educators don`t like displays and especially anything which
interfers with their educational mission. That mission is
to put out ethnically French students, white, black or brown,
they must be French all educated in the same manner.

So how do Muslims girls take the required swimming lessons
with scarves on? The Islamic religious right does not want their girls in
bathing suits much less without their scarves! Other sports activities are
hard to participate in with scarves on. The religious right do not want
their girls taking biology classes where sex is discussed.

5) French feminists view the scarves as a symbol of religious
repression, so they are against it. This "repression" issue
also exists with a portion of the French left.

On the other side of the fence one has those who are for
freedom of religion and expression.

Whatever, the issue is not simple, the culture war wages.

Earl