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…
The race to become the next president of France is becoming a referendum on what it means to be French. As voters prepare to head to the polls Sunday for the Républicains’ primary—which could ultimately determine the next president—the rhetoric at rallies and debates has increasingly focused on whether France’s secular values are compatible with…
The French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, has accused the New York Times of painting an “unacceptable” picture of his country with an article about discrimination against Muslim women. The report was prompted by the debate over controversial bans on Islamic swimsuits in many French Riviera towns. Valls said such bans were part of a “fight for the…
President Francois Hollande called for the creation of “an Islam of France” and the removal of foreign-trained extremist imams in a key speech Thursday on the challenges radical Islam poses to democracy. Addressing the debate surrounding Islam following a summer of terror attacks and burkini bans, he stressed that French secularism was not at odds…
Mayors do not have the right to ban burkinis, France’s highest administrative court ruled Friday. The Council of State’s ruling suspends a ban in the town of Villeneuve-Loubet, near Nice, and could affect cities around the country that have prohibited the full-length swimsuit. More than 30 French towns have banned burkinis, which cover the whole…
