France may ban Muslim scarf in school

Reuters | 5/04/03

[nutmeg]

ping!

[Clemenza]

Yesterday, we went out to eat. We were seated next to an Arab couple and their five children. The only way to describe it was surreal. The daughter who had reached the age of 12 and the mother, wore the long scarf that covered their body except for their eyes. The father wore a baseball cap, jeans and sandalsM

What you just dscribed is an EVERYDAY occurrence in my nabe, which has the largest Arab Muslim population in NYC (Bay Ridge). The men dress just like any American man, while the ladies wear headscarves, sometimes with modern clothes, sometimes with a tent-like garment, but ALWAYS with sneakers that they purchased at National Liquidators. Even better is to go out on a Saturday night (Saturdat Night Fever, btw, was filmed in my neighborhood) and see all the young Arab boys hanging out, blasting hip hop, yelling out at girls, while their sisters sit home doing lord knows what. Then there's the issue of the lack of deoderant and heavy use of cologne, but that's a story for another time...

[Clemenza]

See my last post. The USA has more racial, ethnic enclaves that we know waht to deal with. The USA is nowhere near as intergrated as you see on those dumb American TV shows that the Euro-Peons seem to prefer (when they're not watching soccer).

[Michael81Dus]

It´s exactly the same reason why teachers here may not wear headscarfs (and even that is not finally decided by the courts).

[Michael81Dus]

ok I acknowledge that you face the same problems we have.
I believe that integrating Arabic Muslims (I don´t say Arabs because Arabs can be Christian too) is a big problem, even bigger than integrating Asians or Africans.

[BnBlFlag]

"You won't have any idea why they hate you"..... You are naive as Hell if you can't figure out why they (Muslims) hate us. Its because who we are and does not have anything to do with what we do or do not do.
They want to conquer the world for Islam and their colonization of Europe is just one step towards that goal.
They should be forcibly removed from Europe and the U.S. as well!
Its a matter of self preservation. Your PC thinking belongs on DU; not on FR.

[jeremiah]

Ban the practice of Islam on American soil, I will be flamed. It is unconstitutional, and just plain hateful I guess. But without this move, we as a country are doomed. Muslims will not assimilate, they hate freedom and love the structure of a completely patriarchal society. They bring nothing but trouble.

[xm177e2]

The French vs. Muslim Fanatics... it's a pity both sides can't lose this little war.

primates capitulards toujours en quête de fromages...

[LadyDoc]

your rant is wrong. Most Muslims here are secularized, (for example, those who fled the Iranian revolution). Exactly how many Muslims do you actually know personally?

Islam as usually practiced is not the same as Islamofascism, just as most Christians do no support white supremist "Christian identity" groups.

If the two million Muslims in this country were as bad as you suggest, we would be in trouble. Two million wide eyed terrorists could destroy this country. INstead we have a dozen actually accused of terrorism, some of whom were probably just dumb teens like Jihad Johnny, who got duped into terrorist camps while studying Islam.

[steve-b]

Sounds like what you need is to fix your socialist dunghill with some economic reforms that will get the "gentrification" (wrecking) ball rolling.

The current residents of these enclaves won't like it, and may even try to disrupt it though criminal means -- but the government will be persuaded (legally or otherwise) to side with the people raking in the nine-figure real estate profits. I'm sure that the displaced folks will find new places to live... but it will be practically impossible for them to re-create any enclave large enough to insulate themselves from what passes for Western Civilization in France.

[Michael81Dus]

Interesting. In a country of some 280 million people 2 million of them are Muslim - here in a country with 83 million people 2 million are Muslim...

[Michael81Dus]

What we need is a legal enforcement of language courses. Those who refuse to learn German have to leave this country - the sooner the better! Then, we have to teach Muslim religion in schools to prevent the influence of the radical Koran schools!

And we have to enforce patriotism in this society. It must be normal to know the National Anthem and to sing it (e.g. Environment Minister Trittin said he had never sung this anthem!). All who have a German passport must identify with that nation, then the state will not be seen as the enemy.

We can be proud of our nation and that´s what people here have to understand - but it´s problematic especially after Nazi crimes and reunification.

[CobaltBlue]

>>Teachers even here can be told not to wear religious garments (the court case from the 1920's that I alluded to) and also crosses, turbans etc. since that would imply government institution or favoritism of one religion.<<

I believe you're mistaken about this. I haven't seen a school teacher wearing a headscarf but I have seen headscarves on cafeteria ladies, and women who work at the post office, and at the public library, and at the courthouse.

Maybe it's because I live in Virginia. Virginia is one state that really takes human rights seriously. This is the birthplace of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Mason, who wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights, the first Bill of Rights.

But I think not. I think any Muslim woman who was forced to remove her headscarf and went to court would win these days, just as a devout Sikh man would keep his turban and a devout Jew would keep his yarmulka.

These items are not fashion statements, and they are not optional, they are an essential element of expression of religious belief.

[LadyDoc]

I am happy the state of Virginia allows Mennonite women to wear their caps.

But I was alluding to a famous lawsuit in the 1920's that forced nuns to remove their habits if they taught in public schools (usually rural, isolated schools that could find no other teachers).

ANd there have been many stories of Muslim women forced to remove a simple headscarf.

Interestingly enough, the reason Eliz Smart was not found was that she wore a veil, for "religious" reasons, and no one got suspicious

[skeeter]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/907127/posts