Within the Middle East, the largest population of the men and women are Muslim. The Muslim religion suggests that women wear a veil or hijab, which is a head scarf that only exposes a woman’s eyes, accompanied by a burqa which is a full body cloak. The sole purpose of the clothing is to cover a woman’s feminine features from men’s eyes. The Qur’an, an Islamic scripture, supports and slightly obligates the uniform by saying that women are to be conservative, “let them wear their head covering over their bosoms, and not display their ornaments.” (Qur’an). It could be inferred that women wear the burqa and veil willingly because of their geographical location. However, when Muslim women are withdrawn from the Middle East, and are placed within other countries such as France, they become a minority group, which attracts attention because of their uncommon customs.
Wearing the burqa and veil by Muslim women in France has become a controversial topic. The burqa and veil are recognized in France as a conflicting uniform against the French ways of “preserving the republic and its democratic and secular tradition.”(Graff). At first, France addressed the issue by intervening in the school systems in 2004. That year, they passed the Secularity Law which “bans the wearing of Muslim hijabs, Sikh's head coverings, large Christian crosses or crucifixes, Jewish yarmulkes, etc.” (News of Religious Conflict & Intolerance) in public schools. Furthermore, in 2010 France banned the complete public use of the Muslim veil and burqa. Consequences for disobeying the law could result in a fine or “lessons in French citizenship” (France begins ban on niqab and burqa).
The anticipated law, which would ban the use of the burqa and veil, finally took p...
... middle of paper ...
.... 1 Feb. 2004. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.
Harper, Ben. "Veiled Threats: Secularism and Religious Freedom in France."Studentfreepress.net. Student Free Press Association, 15 Sept. 2010. Web. 04 Dec. 2011.
"New of Religious Conflict & Intolerance - 2004-July." Religioustolerance.org. July 2004. Web. 08 Dec. 2011. .
Papas, Voula. "Islam and Women's Rights | Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc." Atheist Foundation of Australia Inc | Founded 1970. Web. 11 Dec. 2011.
"Religious Freedom." Auburn University. Web. 13 Dec. 2011.
"Society2 ; Religion in France ; Beliefs ; Secularism (laicité)." The Franco-American WebSite ; Intercultural ; Tips for Americans about France and Paris ; France and the French. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.
"Why Dress Codes and Why Now?" Clearinghouse on Educational Policy and Management. Web. 13 Dec. 2011.
In Phyllis Chesler’s article “France is Brave and Right to Ban the Burqa,” Chesler uses several persuasive appeals to build her argument praising burqa bans. I will be providing a rhetorical analysis as well as a Toulmin analysis of this article.
Fakhraie launches her essay by explaining how Muslim women struggle every day because of what they wear. In her essay, she talks about a teenage girl that was killed by her father because she refused to wear her hijab. Also, many women that wear a hijab are being banned from sporting events in the United States. A hijab is a “traditional Muslim garment” (Fakhraie 461) that several Muslim women wear every
For some women wearing a veil is not something that is forced on them but rather a choice of their own. Martha Nussbaum and Maysan Haydar are both authors that try to explain their reasoning that veiling isn't an oppressive tool used against women. Martha Nussbaum's article “Veiled Threats”, is a political and philosophical take on why banning the burqa is a violation of human rights. On the other hand Maysan Haydar’s article “Don’t Judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering”, is a more humorous and personal take on why veiling shouldn't be as judged or stereotyped. Though Nussbaum and Haydar have equal goals this essay is being used to understand the main argument, claims and whether or not each article has any weaknesses.
Do Muslim Women Really Need Saving by Lila Abu-Lughod describes Western feminist beliefs on Muslim women and their burqa/veil and how focusing on these misconceptions are doing far more harm than good. This causes Western feminists reduce the culture and beliefs of Muslim women down to a single piece of clothing. The burqa is a type of veil worn by Muslim women for a number of reasons such as proprietary and signaling their relationship with God. The burqa is often seen a symbol of suppression amongst the Western world and it was expected for women to throw it off in a show of independence once liberated from the Taliban. The saving of Muslim women is often used to justify the “War on Terrorism” as exemplified in Laura Bush 's 2001 speech. The belief that Muslim women needed saving existed before the “War on Terrorism” as seen when Marnia Lazreg wrote about a skit where two Afghan girls talked about the beauty of the free Christian France.
This documentary brings attention to events that have been occurring in France since September 2004. The law that prohibits Muslims from wearing headwraps in school is an undemocratic form of islamophobia. The documentary was created to help display the frustrations, hopes, as well as political ambitions of the next generation of the French Muslims, people who were born as French citizens and who make explorations of their potentials to change the national identity of France.
The author talks about how this was not something that happen overnight, but has been discussed about from a very long time such a 1989. The views of people that the author chooses to look at are Ernest Cheniere, who raised the statement of banning headscarves in public schools in 1994 and Francois Bayrou minister of education in 1994 who saw muslim headscarves as a way of proselytizing. Then Joan Scotts talks about why the timing played into affect, how racism such as colonial legacies were effected, secularism, individualism of the veil, Muslims being looked as threats, how uncivilized Muslim people were, and sexuality. Joan Scotts goes into detail in all the sub topics and shows how does this affect a common Muslim girl that wears a hijab and how does the French government view
The creation and enforcement of the burqa comes from a combination of a misinterpretation of the Koran and influences from the Pushtun residents of the country. The Koran has a brief passage that describes that women should abide by decent codes of conduct and their bosoms and private parts should be veiled (Goodson). In Pushtun societies women have a lesser role and lead more sheltered lives, but they were still respected (Goodson). So women had a very restrictive dress code that included wearing veils that covered almost their entire body till the late 1950’s, but it should be noted that they were treated with a lot more respect and equality than during the Taliban regime (Schulz).
The legislation aspires to prohibit public-sector employees from wearing “objects such as headgear, clothing, jewelry or other religious affiliation”. These objects include items such as kippahs, turbans, hijabs, and large crucifixes. This ban would be intended to apply to all civil servants, including individuals such as teachers, doctors, nurses and police offiercers (Jake Flanagin, The Atlantic). At a hearing for Bill 60, Michelle Blanc, who is a transgender woman, spoke in support of the Bill, appealing to Quebecers' pro-LGBT feelings. “When I see a veil, the mental image I have is all of the gays who were hung high and low in the public square... in certain Arab countries”, Blanc had stated. Although same-sex relationships and the importance of being accepting of all religions have been two of the most controversial and highly debated topics, it is definitely not the right step to attack the Muslim religion and specific Arab countries in an attempt to defend Bill 60. Much like it is innapropriate to accuse the LGBT community of being anti-religion, it is equally innapropriate to accuse an entire religion for the horrible act of the hanging of gays in certain Arab countries. Not all gays are
Robinson B.A. 1 Mar 2000 (last update), Islam, Hp. Online. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Available:
Web. The Web. The Web. 6 Nov. 2011. Forer, Ben.
The burqa affects women negatively and positively, in both emotional and physical aspects, and is seen as a universal symbol of oppression which can arguably be taken to the extreme for the benefit of other countries. The physical effects of Muslim dress can be positive, but mostly negative; Journalists contend that burqas can lessen the hassle when dealing with one’s physical appearance, but can negatively affect health and be very uncomfortable. According to Doucleff, “‘wearing the hijab eliminates many of the hassles women have to go through — such as dyeing their hair,’ she says. ‘For example, you're getting old, and gray hairs, when you wear the hijab, you might not think about dyeing your hair because nobody sees it anyway.’”
Most of these things it is possible to see through the analysis of the situation that exists in practice and analysis of several court cases. In France, for years women with Hijab encounter problems, both in education and in ...
The traditions of Islam revolve around the blessed words of Muhammad revealed to him through Allah. These revelations guide Muslims through not only the act of worship, but also through a lifestyle strictly designated in the words of the Qur'an. Those who criticize Islamic customs often accuse the Qur’an of attempting to govern society under prehistoric law. This holy book dates back to the lifetime of the prophet Muhammad in the 7th centuries Clearly times have changed; yet many Islamic customs have not evolved through time. One of the most controversial topics in Islam today addresses women’s issues. Popular American culture portrays Islamic women as veiled and silenced figures living in a world of submission. Feminist groups in the United States focus on Muslim women and attempt to liberate the strong hold of Islamic tradition on women’s freedom. Over 900 million Muslims continue to worship Allah worldwide. Islam continues to thrive as one of the major monotheistic religions across cultures and the followers of Islam respect and defend the words and customs laid out in the Qur’an.
Wearing the burqa and veil by Muslim women in France has become a controversial topic. The burqa and veil are recognized in France as a conflicti...
“French Parliament to Consider Burka Ban.” CNN. June 24 2009. Online. Available http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/06/23/france.burkas/index.html?iref=all search. Jan 5 2010.