http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8112821.stm
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has spoken out strongly against the wearing of the burka by Muslim women in France.
"The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic," the French president said.
2 comments:
I've known a couple Muslim women who would have disagreed about the subservience bit. One specifically said that she liked the respect she got wearing it. (This was before 9/11.) They both wore Burqas that exposed at least their eyes, though.
Honestly, I think the "subservience" angle is a convenient smokescreen. What France wants -- what all of Western Europe wants, really -- is for the massive wave of Muslim immigrants to integrate peacefully. Not really an unreasonable request (no different than our American concept of the "melting pot"), but a tough nut to crack when every survey of Muslim immigrants in Europe show that overwhelming majorities believe that loyalty to their faith trumps loyalty to their new country. An especially dangerous thing in countries like France, where "the secular state" has the same iconic status as "respect for the Constitution" does here in the US.
The sad part of it is, legitimate concern about the Muslim immigration wave is muddied by the fact that the only people speaking up firmly on the issue are dubious climbers like Sarko and crypto-Fascists like Berlusconi. Once -- just once -- I'd love to hear a centrist or leftist European politician say "Western culture is worth saving, and we intend to do whatever we must to save it."
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