Call for Muslim Veil Ban in French Universities
France could be set to go a step further in its ban on the wearing of religious symbols in state schools.
A new report has recommended banning the Islamic headscarf and other religious symbols in the country's universities, a French newspaper claimed on Monday.
France has been urged to consider extending its contentious 2004 ban on Muslim headscarves in schools by also forbidding students from wearing the garments in the country’s universities, French newspaper Le Monde claimed on Monday.
According to Le Monde, a report by the High Council of Integration (HCI), which is set to be delivered to the government later in the year, makes 12 recommendations aimed at diffusing a "growing number of disputes" stemming from religious differences at higher education institutions.
The key and almost certainly most controversial recommendation HCI makes is to forbid the "wearing of religious symbols openly in lecture theatres and places of teaching and research" at French universities.
A controversial 2004 law prohibits the wearing or open display of religious symbols in all French schools and colleges, inlcluding crucifixes, Jewish skull caps and the Muslim headscraf - the Hijab, but does not apply to universities.
A similarly contentious law was introduced in April 2011 which effectively banned the wearing in public of the full face veil, the niqab. It did not however forbid the wearing of the hijab headscarf.
The authors of the HCI report have been made aware of a number of problems and disputes centred around religious differences that are occuring at universities and are keen to ensure "religious neutrality" in France's establishments of higher education.
Among the issues faced in French universities according to the HCI are "underground acitivity of religious groups", "demands to be excused from attendance on religious grounds" and "disagreements over the curriculum".
There have also been reports of students refusing to work in mixed sex study groups.According to Le Monde, the HCI says the freedom of expression granted to users of higher education "should not affect educational activities and public order".
The report’s writers say that "the public service of higher education is secular and independent of any political, economic, religious or ideological influence,” so there is no reason why higher education should be any different from schools, Le Monde reports.
President of the HCI Benoit Normand confirmed that the report was passed over to the France’s National Observatory on Secularism earlier this year but “will not be made public until the end of the year”.
Jean-Louis Bianco, president of the government linked National Observatory on Secularism,said the “issue of head scarves in universities is not on the table”.
Source: thelocal.fr
France has been urged to consider extending its contentious 2004 ban on Muslim headscarves in schools by also forbidding students from wearing the garments in the country’s universities, French newspaper Le Monde claimed on Monday.
According to Le Monde, a report by the High Council of Integration (HCI), which is set to be delivered to the government later in the year, makes 12 recommendations aimed at diffusing a "growing number of disputes" stemming from religious differences at higher education institutions.
The key and almost certainly most controversial recommendation HCI makes is to forbid the "wearing of religious symbols openly in lecture theatres and places of teaching and research" at French universities.
A controversial 2004 law prohibits the wearing or open display of religious symbols in all French schools and colleges, inlcluding crucifixes, Jewish skull caps and the Muslim headscraf - the Hijab, but does not apply to universities.
A similarly contentious law was introduced in April 2011 which effectively banned the wearing in public of the full face veil, the niqab. It did not however forbid the wearing of the hijab headscarf.
The authors of the HCI report have been made aware of a number of problems and disputes centred around religious differences that are occuring at universities and are keen to ensure "religious neutrality" in France's establishments of higher education.
Among the issues faced in French universities according to the HCI are "underground acitivity of religious groups", "demands to be excused from attendance on religious grounds" and "disagreements over the curriculum".
There have also been reports of students refusing to work in mixed sex study groups.According to Le Monde, the HCI says the freedom of expression granted to users of higher education "should not affect educational activities and public order".
The report’s writers say that "the public service of higher education is secular and independent of any political, economic, religious or ideological influence,” so there is no reason why higher education should be any different from schools, Le Monde reports.
President of the HCI Benoit Normand confirmed that the report was passed over to the France’s National Observatory on Secularism earlier this year but “will not be made public until the end of the year”.
Jean-Louis Bianco, president of the government linked National Observatory on Secularism,said the “issue of head scarves in universities is not on the table”.
Source: thelocal.fr
