The national parliamentary commission investigating niqab and burqa-use in France will receive testimony from Tariq Ramadan on December 2nd. Le Figaro reports that according to André Gerin, there is increased division among the UMP on the importance of a law banning their use. The report is expected to be made public in January 2010.
Northern UMP deputy member Françoise Hostalier has proposed a similar legislation against headscarves in the National Assembly to the 2004 prohibition of conspicuous religious signs in public schools. Hostalier’s request comes in the wake of students who “provocatively” wore hijabs in the National Assembly in a recent visit. On November 19 in response to protest…
Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature Hamid Dabashi calls upon the world to recognize US Muslims as an integral part of American culture. In this article, he critiques the polarizing debate between the essentialist discourses that pin Islam as inherently violent religion, and the reactive apologist rhetoric which defends Islam as a faith that…
