Countries across the continent have wrestled with the issue of the Muslim veil – in various forms such as the body-covering burqa and the niqab, which covers the face apart from the eyes. The debate takes in religious freedom, female equality, secular traditions and even fears of terrorism. This article summarizes the current debates and…
Bernard Godard, co-author with Sylvie Taussig of “Les Musulmans en France” (Muslims in France, Hachette 2009), is interviewed here on his perspectives on Islam in France. Godard comments that there has been an institutionalization of Islam in France in the last ten years. Before mayors rarely supported mosque construction, for instance, and this attitude has…
This week De Telegraaf publishes an interview with Yusuf Altuntas, principal of the ISBO, the Netherlands’ umbrella organization for Islamic education, in advance of its annual address. Venues for Islamic education in the country include 42 elementary and 2 secondary schools serving approximately 10,000 pupils. Altuntas addressed plans to improve ratings for school inspections through…
This timeline describes the recent legislation and announcements on the headscarf/hijab/burqa/niqab in France since 2004.
A 32-member multiparty panel led by Andre Gerin presented a panoply of recommendations aimed at dissuading Muslim women from wearing full-face covering headscarves. Another recommendation: denying resident cards and citizenship to women who wear all-encompassing veils. The panel was bitterly divided over recommending a ban on face-covering veils on the street, and that was not…
