tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post5759507193827604600..comments2024-03-28T13:08:26.494-04:00Comments on Religion & American Law: The End of the Burqa in France?Brantley Gasawayhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02894338478934982958noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-3241455365238813522010-03-01T21:29:48.617-05:002010-03-01T21:29:48.617-05:00I agree with the other posts that the French gover...I agree with the other posts that the French government has crossed a line here in intervening in a religious matter. When you stop and think about it, what is really the difference between refusing service to a Muslim woman wearing a burqas and then refusing service toward a Black man because of the color of his skin? Both are based on appearances. Somehow, the human race and governments in particular seem more tolerant of religious persecution and the limitation of religious freedom than of racial injustice. Why is that? Are we more likely to scream inequality when persecuted for our race rather than our religion? Or do people in general have a greater fear of standing up for their religious beliefs? I believe that people are often times afraid of revealing their religious preference to others, much less of "making a scene" by fighting for the right to continue to practice as they wish.jpetersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10501513856081474609noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-46230486505483437872010-02-24T16:45:33.384-05:002010-02-24T16:45:33.384-05:00I think that a lot of this issue has to do with th...I think that a lot of this issue has to do with the structure of social policy in France. It isn’t clear that the French government has suggested a ban on burqas simply because they disagree with certain religious tenets. France has a history of protecting the “French pride” of its people in a secular state. Because of this, in France it is actually illegal to collect data concerning the numbers of different religious affiliations in the country. The logic behind this is that it lessens tensions between groups of individuals by seemingly not acknowledging that they are actually affiliated with a group. (Religious, racial, etc.) In short, the French want their citizens to be considered “French” above all else. Because of this, a burqa may be viewed as differentiating an individual from the overall French population. Nonetheless, I still believe that when an individual wants to be identified in a certain way it is problematic when the State attempts to take this right away from them.Justin Mhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04874539232092406867noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-34132272053324178312010-02-24T09:32:49.024-05:002010-02-24T09:32:49.024-05:00It seems like there's a confusion here between...It seems like there's a confusion here between substance and rhetoric. There is a conflict between a rhetoric of pluralism and a rhetoric of orthodoxy (not in the strictly religious sense; including political or cultural orthodoxy). Each rhetoric is often treated as more than rhetoric, as substantive, and defended as orthodoxy (for Americans to question the 'right' of each individual to choose his or her own religious practices or beliefs is blasphemy, plain and simple). It seems much more problematic to treat a rhetoric of pluralism as orthodoxy than to treat a rhetoric of orthodoxy as orthodox. The latter case makes critique possible; the false consciousness of the former case prevents any critical engagement because the actual orthodoxy is hidden, and disclaimed, by the purported pluralism.<br /><br />That some French politicians are willing to be up front about defending laïcité without hiding behind a rhetoric of pluralism is entirely admirable. Yes, people get hurt. People always get hurt, that's the way the world is, fallen. But at least that pain can be acknowledged, and mourned, and can animate critique; the pain inflicted under the rhetoric of pluralism is just as serious, probably more, but it can never be acknowledged, or mourned, and it can never fuel critique.Vincent Lloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15589470398596206997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-606201113344523885.post-10431548184458640062010-02-23T21:33:25.232-05:002010-02-23T21:33:25.232-05:00I remember France trending in this direction a few...I remember France trending in this direction a few years ago when they prohibited girls’ hijabs in public schools—one brave girl shaved her head rather than let males see her hair, which is against her religion. A potential extension of that law by banning burqas in public places is even more worrying. I read another article where the Catholic Church in France condemned the possible ban—if France bans burqas, what is to stop Muslim countries from banning the practice of Christianity? I don’t think that America will ever be at the point of banning the outward symbols of deeply held religious faith (or at least I hope not), but there have been issues of Muslim women’s dress coming up against American practices; I can’t remember the exact article but there was one a few years ago about a Muslim woman that had to remove her veil for her driver’s license photo and she and her family were very upset.Shannon H.https://www.blogger.com/profile/08626019400571797708noreply@blogger.com