Posted on 09/02/2004 7:04:23 AM PDT by ohioconservative
PARIS (AP) - Millions of French students returned to school Thursday as a new law that bans Islamic head scarves from classrooms went into effect amid demands by Islamic radicals holding two French hostages in Iraq that the law be scrapped.
Muslim leaders in France, who had largely opposed the law, urged calm for the return to class. It was not immediately clear whether any girls defied the law by wearing head scarves, as the opening of classes was staggered throughout the day.
"The hostage-takers are just waiting for a provocation," Mohammed Bechari, a vice president of the French Council for the Muslim Faith, told Le Figaro newspaper. "We must be responsible."
A Wednesday night deadline passed with no word of the fate the journalists Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, who disappeared Aug. 19 on their way from Baghdad to the southern city of Najaf. The French government has refused to cede to their demand to scrap the law.
The managing editor of France's Le Figaro newspaper, Jean de Belot, told Europe-1 radio on Thursday that information obtained from "indirect contact" with the kidnappers suggested that the two journalists are still alive. A group of French Muslims was arriving in Baghdad on Thursday in an attempt to win the hostages' release.
The head scarf law has been among the most divisive issues in recent times in France.
The law forbids conspicuous religious signs or apparel in public schools, including Jewish skull caps and large Christian crosses. However, it is aimed at Islamic head scarves and meant to counter a rise in Muslim fundamentalism reportedly taking root in schools.
Authorities also want to bolster France's much cherished principle of secularism, seen here as a way to guarantee peaceful coexistence among various religions and communities.
Muslims counter that not all who wear head scarves - considered a sign of modesty - are fundamentalists, and that girls are being forced to choose between their beliefs and staying in school. France's Muslim population is an estimated 5 million, the largest in Western Europe.
As classes opened, one Muslim girl in the working-class Paris suburb of Aubervilliers said she had left her head scarf at home.
"I was always treated badly and I felt uncomfortable, so I decided to take it off," said Nadia Arabi, 16, before heading through the gates of Henri Wallon school.
Students said they were given a handout spelling out the new law and were instructed to read it and be able to explain it.
Several Muslim organizations have set up hot lines to advise or council young girls in a quandary over the law.
Sofia Rahem said her association, GFaim2Savoir, lingo for "I'm Hungry for Knowledge," has received "an enormous number" of calls.
"They are young girls in distress who don't know what to do with their future," said Rahem, a 23-year-old university student who wears a head scarf. "They fear the return to school knowing they won't be accepted with a scarf."
The law, passed in March, has raised arguments over religious freedom and free expression as well as secularism.
However, dramatic scenes of rejection at the school gate were not expected. The law specifies that no one will be immediately excluded from school. It calls for a period of dialogue, though Education Minister Francois Fillon has stressed that there is no room for negotiations.
"There is no question today of excluding. It is a question of convincing," he said.
Experts predict a rash of court cases brought by Muslims who test the law by wearing "discreet" head coverings like bandannas. The law allows for discreet religious signs.
A new factor - the hostage crisis in Iraq - hung ominously over the new school year.
France has refused to cede to a demand of the Islamic Army of Iraq, holding two French journalists, to retract the law. French Muslims have widely supported the refusal to revoke the law in the face of "blackmail."
"If we remain in this uncertainty or the end is tragic, it is clear that it will make the position of young girls who go to school covering their heads very difficult," said Jean Bauberot, the sole dissenter on a presidential commission that recommended France pass the law.
The powerful Union for Islamic Organizations of France has advised girls to go to school dressed as they wish.
The hope is that schools will accept bandannas, which could be worn for "reasons of coquetry, of beauty," said UOIF President Lhaj Thami Breze.
"If the law is rigidly applied, we'll go to court," he said. "We want to avoid that. We want to find a compromise."
Individual schools, via their internal rules, have the final say. While all schools must conform, the law leaves it to each school to decide whether bandannas, for instance, are acceptable. Some schools have simply opted to ban all head gear.
French authorities contend Muslims are turning increasingly militant and failing to integrate. They see banning head scarves in schools as a solution.
There are still those journalists...
I was wondering, are the girls allowed to wear hats to school? I know in Europe, many people wear hats, much more so than in America.
They should abide by our designated rules. If they disagree, then get the heck out of America. Mamzelle, you are quite right in your summation and pandering only causes more harm. Bush/Cheney 2004
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