Free Republic

France plans ban on turbans and crucifixes in schools By Philip Delves Broughton in Bobigny (Filed: 24/01/2004) Christians from Iraq and Sikhs from India expressed outrage yesterday at French government plans to ban the wearing of religious symbols in school - a move which could force them to hide their crucifixes and swap their turbans for shower caps. "Everything was fine until they decided to have this law," said Joseph Adlun, the head of the Association of French Assyro-Chaldeans, a Christian community which originates from ancient Mesopotamia. "Now they're trying to create confrontations between us and other communities. We're Catholics,...

Priest fined for speaking against Islam 82-year-old guilty of 'provoking hatred' for saying Quran of the devil Posted: January 19, 2004 5:00 p.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com A French priest has been found guilty of "provoking discrimination, hatred or violence" for comments he made critical of the Quran, Islam's holy book. Philippe Sulmont, 82, was fined $990 for expressing his thoughts in a letter to his parishioners in Domqueur in 2002, Agence France-Presse reported. "The Asiatics proliferate and invade our land, bringing with them an ideology that threatens the whole world," he wrote. "Indeed I would add there is no...

French ban on religious symbols is reminiscent of America's own legacy of religious bigotry, one that's still, amazingly, occurring today When French President Jacques Chirac endorsed a piece of legislation last month banning the wearing of religious symbols, including Muslim head scarves and Jewish yarmulkes, in France's public schools, he seemed to have most of his country behind him. Among the most conspicuous of these supporters was the head of the CRIF, an umbrella organization of French Jews. The reaction to this announcement among most American Jews, as with most Americans, was incomprehension. How is it possible, many of us...

Religious freedom sacrificed on the altar of the state 19dec03 Following the recommendation of a committee of French MPs, French President Jacques Chirac yesterday called for a new law banning conspicuous forms of religious dress in public schools. Not surprisingly, this has met an angry response from French religious leaders; the implications for their congregations are obvious. The significance of the recommendation, however, is counter-intuitive. It has more profound implications for secularism than it does for those it immediately affects. This is because it threatens the paradigmatic foundations of liberal secular thought. To the extent this decision embodies a development...

Muslim girls in France could be barred from wearing headscarves in schools after an expert commission recommended a ban on "conspicuous" religious signs. The official commission headed by former minister Bernard Stasi has released its findings on issues relating to religion and the state. French President Jacques Chirac will announce next week whether he supports the commission's recommendation. The ban would also include the Jewish skull-cap and large Christian crosses. Discreet displays Mr Stasi consulted a wide cross-section of public opinion, including teachers, religious leaders, sociologists and politicians before handing in the report to the president on Thursday. Although the...

PARIS - France should ban Muslim veils, Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses from its public schools, while creating new holidays to respect holy days of minority religions, an official report said on Thursday. The long-awaited report on church-state relations, the center-piece of a national debate over integrating Muslims into French society, advised Paris to stand firm against militant Islamists trying to undermine official secularism. It also urged traditionally Catholic France to respect "all spiritual options" in its ever more diverse society and stressed that sexual equality was a key criterion in deciding whether certain practices were considered acceptable. President...

A long-awaited report on church-state relations in France advised the government on Thursday to forbid school pupils to wear Muslim veils, Jewish skullcaps or large Christian crosses.THE REPORT PRESENTED to President Jacques Chirac said wearing such "conspicuous signs of religion" was contrary to the strict secularism French law requires for state establishments. It also suggested that a Jewish and a Muslim holy day -- Yom Kippur and Eid al-Kebir -- be made official holidays such as Christmas and that companies allow workers to take off the religious holiday of their choice, commission secretary Remy Schwartz told journalists. Muslim headscarves...

A French expert commission recommended a ban on "conspicuous" religious signs in schools, including the Islamic "veil" and the Jewish skullcap. The 20-member commission headed by former government minister Bernard Stasi gave its report to President Jacques Chirac after three months of consultations with religious leaders, teachers, politicians and sociologists. Chirac was to decide in the coming days whether to follow the recommendations with a new law. The report also suggested that Yom Kippur -- the Jewish Day of Atonement -- and Eid al-Fitr -- the Muslim day marking the end of Ramadan -- be celebrated in state schools. It...