Burqas in France: The Veil is Lifted

According to CNN, President Nicolas Sarkozy emphatically spoke out Wednesday, April 21, supporting a proposed bill that would ban all Muslim women from wearing face- covering Islamic veils, called a burqa, in France.

Sarkozy, along with other French politicians, claim that the veils are defamatory towards woman and pose a serious security threat. The Washington Post quoted Sarkozy saying that the veils "hurt the dignity of women and are not acceptable in French society." France is home to the largest Islamic population in the European Union.

The Muslim population accounts for around 10 percent of the 62 million people that inhabit France. As a result, France has had practice dealing with clashes between Islamic beliefs and French social practices.

In 2004, France controversially outlawed all "ostentatious" religious symbols from classrooms. This ban raised questions about whether France's strictly secular governing beliefs have gone too far and crossed the line into the territory of racism. Although France has had a long history of strict regulations on religion, this new ban surpasses any prior legislation. This is all coming at a time of an increase in militant French citizens who feel threatened by the influx of immigrants from Muslim and Arabic countries in general.

Nadine Morano, Secretary of State for Family,  is quoted by The Washington Post as saying that the government wants to "break this dynamic of invasion of burqas in our country." The French courts system and other experts have warned Sarkozy that the bill, banning the use of burqas, could  very likely be against the constitution. 

Earlier in April, an Islamic woman driving with a burqa was stopped and fined because her veil did not allow her full operation and impeded her vision. According to The Washington Post, the woman who was pulled over participated in a press conference on Friday. She was quoted stating that the incident left her with "a feeling of injustice." She pleaded her innocence saying "I didn't commit any infraction. I see just as well as you…I have driven like this for nine years. I've not had any problems."

According to The Washington Post, some people in France see absurdity in the claim that burqas impede vision because they are very similar to nun's habits, motorcycle helmets, and other masks that drivers have to wear. Growing tension is leading the Muslim community to attempt to defend itself. Some Muslim leaders have come out and said that the Qu'ran does not say anything about strictly enforcing wearing of the veil.

Yet some are still outraged because they feel attacked by the French government's radical move to strictly regulate their religion. The government's act of trying to regulate Islamic practices has become the hot bed of contention; the issue about the veils themselves is not that much of a problem because so few women actually wear them.

However, some people think that due to the impending ban, more and more women will begin to wear the veils and full body cover-ups in order to represent and support their religion and culture.

France will have to continue to be in constant dialogue with Islamic leaders in order to work out the fundamental issues of regulation and to prevent any more problems with France's tolerance towards Muslims.