Veiled Electoral Candidate not Welcome on French Presidential Majority List

The departmental elections ( one of the local levels of state administration ) will take place in the summer of 2021. Two local candidates of the presidential majority have faced online backlash after a member of the extreme-right party Rassemblement National (RN) vehemently criticized the presence of a veiled woman as second substitute on the…

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Kahina Bahloul and the European imamas, pushing for a modern and liberal Islam

Kahina Bahloul, who is credited for becoming the first female imam (or imama) in France, published in March 2021 her first book titled “Mon islam, ma liberté” (“My Islam, my freedom”). In this book, she explains her origins and her liberal vision of Islam. Born in Paris in 1979, Bahloul spent her childhood and adolescence…

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Towards the Ban of the Veil for French Women under 18?

Early April, the French Senate started to discuss the Bill aiming at reinforcing the Republican principles (a novlangue expression to talk about the Bill against “separatism”). In the French legislative system, two chambers are in charge : first the National Assembly, then the Senate that can propose amendments, and third a shared reading of the…

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How the mandatory mask in the time of COVID19 makes Muslim women feel

Yasmin Bakkar, 26, is a practicing Muslim and a cover teacher in secondary schools across Leicester. Bakkar has worn the niqab [a face veil that covers everything but the eyes] since she was 14-years-old. Her choice to do so has been religiously important to her, but this has resulted in occasions where she has been…

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German Constitutional Court backs hijab bans in the judiciary

Over the past twenty years, the Federal Republic of Germany has witnessed a slew of court cases surrounding Muslim women’s right to wear the hijab in different situations. Much litigation has revolved around two sites: schools and teaching personnel on the one hand, and courts and judicial employees on the other hand. Gradually, after years…

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