French parliament set to study burqa
Güncelleme Tarihi:
The Associated Press
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 24, 2009 00:00
PARIS - French parliament created a commission to study the wearing of body-covering burqas and niqabs in France, a day after President Nicolas Sarkozy said the Islamic garment turns women into prisoners. The 32-member commission, with members from France's four major political parties, will hold hearings that could lead to legislation banning burqas from being worn in public.
Some critics have warned that studying the issue could stigmatize France's Muslims. France has Western Europe's largest Muslim population, estimated at 5 million. A small but growing group of French women wear burqas and niqabs, which either cloak the entire body or cover everything but the eyes.
On Monday, Sarkozy told lawmakers he supported banning burqas in public, calling them "a sign of debasement" for women. "We cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity," said Sarkozy. "It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic," he added. Last week, a group of 60 lawmakers from all political parties signed a petition demanding a parliamentary inquiry on the wearing of burqas. Muslim groups and government officials say it is difficult to know how many women wear burqas and niqabs in France, but estimate the number to be at least in the hundreds. They are far less prevalent than simpler Muslim headscarves.
The commission is expected within six months to complete its work, which could lead to a proposed law on burqas. A similar type of commission led to a 2004 law banning the wearing of Muslim headscarves at public schools, along with Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses.
Meanwhile, the burqa debate in France has prompted international reaction as Lebanon's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, called on Sarkozy to reconsider his statements on the burqa.
Fadlallah said women should not be forced to wear a burqa but, at the same time, if they decide to do so by themselves, their will should be respected. "Freedom is one of the sacred matters for human beings but freedom should come from the will of the person not from laws that are imposed by people," Fadlallah said in an interview with The Associated Press.In France, the terms "burqa" and "niqab" often are used interchangeably. A burqa is a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan - with only a mesh screen over the eyes.
On Monday, Sarkozy told lawmakers he supported banning burqas in public, calling them "a sign of debasement" for women. "We cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity," said Sarkozy. "It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic," he added. Last week, a group of 60 lawmakers from all political parties signed a petition demanding a parliamentary inquiry on the wearing of burqas. Muslim groups and government officials say it is difficult to know how many women wear burqas and niqabs in France, but estimate the number to be at least in the hundreds. They are far less prevalent than simpler Muslim headscarves.
The commission is expected within six months to complete its work, which could lead to a proposed law on burqas. A similar type of commission led to a 2004 law banning the wearing of Muslim headscarves at public schools, along with Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses.
Meanwhile, the burqa debate in France has prompted international reaction as Lebanon's most influential Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, called on Sarkozy to reconsider his statements on the burqa.
Fadlallah said women should not be forced to wear a burqa but, at the same time, if they decide to do so by themselves, their will should be respected. "Freedom is one of the sacred matters for human beings but freedom should come from the will of the person not from laws that are imposed by people," Fadlallah said in an interview with The Associated Press.In France, the terms "burqa" and "niqab" often are used interchangeably. A burqa is a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan - with only a mesh screen over the eyes.