France Secularism
France being a century old secular state, has the right to expect its citizens to abide by it, regardless of their religion and the duties that correspond with their faith.
The following is an essay which reflects the French government's current position regarding the prohibition of headscarf use by young Muslim women in schools. It will discuss the government's position on the new legislation in relation to issues such as human rights, secularism, anti-Semitism and sexual equality. It will also discuss the reaction to this current issue from those in the French Muslim community who support the legislation, to those who are against the legislation.
In 1905, the French government established laws which prevented the state from recognising or funding any religion . The concept of these laws is commonly referred to by the French term laïcité, a principle which defines the separation of church and state. These laws were passed to safeguard the new French democracy from any political influence, such as the Catholic Church, which was a strong political force opposed to the establishment of a secular democracy . As Christopher Caldwell states, the Catholic Church not only influenced politics but also controlled primary education . It is not surprising then that in the tradition of maintaining a secular state, 69% of the French population were in favour of the law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools (law 2004-228).
On March 15 2004, law 2004-228 was signed into law by President Jacques Chirac, and came into effect on September 2 2004 at the beginning of the school year . The new law prohibits primary and secondary students from wearing any conspicuous religious symbols or attire. This includes yarmulkes (skullcaps) worn by Jewish men, large crosses worn by Christians, turbans worn by Sikh men and hijab (headscarves) worn by Muslim women. It has sparked some controversy among members of the Muslim community, which...
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