President Sarkozy har i sitt viktiga politiska
linjetal inför parlamentet sagt ett klart och
entydigt nej till islamistisk kvinnoförnedring.
Presidenten stöder lagförslaget som skall förbjuda
allt offentligt bärande av burqa i Frankrike.
***
"Since this was the first time in almost one and a
half centuries that a French president had been
allowed to address parliament, President Nicolas
Sarkozy's speech was already on course to ruffle
a few feathers.
The Greens and Communists refused to attend and
the Socialists left early, claiming the venue for the
address - the Chateau of Versailles, which was
home to King Louis XIV - smacked of monarchy
and a thirst for power.
But it was the French leader's attack on
the burka that really caused a stir.
He expressed his strong distaste for
the head-to-toe Islamic veil, calling
it not a sign of religion but a sign of
subservience.
"It will not be welcome on French soil," he said."
We cannot accept, in our country, women im-
prisoned behind a mesh, cut off from society,
deprived of all identity. That is not the French
republic's idea of women's dignity."
**
President Sarkozy's comments have not come
out of the blue.
They are in response to a call last week by a
group of 65 cross-party MPs, led by the
Communist Andre Gerin, who wants a
parliamentary commission set up to
investigate the spread of the burka in France.
They want to see whether such a spread is
indicative of a radicalisation of Islam, whether
women are being forced to cover themselves
or are doing so voluntarily, and whether
wearing the burka undermines French secularism.
Mr Gerin believes the burka "amounts to a breach
of individual freedom on our national territory".
***
Så är det idag:
— In France a law was passed in 2004 banning
pupils from wearing "conspicuous" religious symbols
at state schools, a move widely interpreted as
aimed at the Muslim headscarf
— In Turkey where 99 per cent of the population
is Muslim, all forms of Muslim headscarf have been
banned in universities for decades under the secular
government. In June 2008 the country's Constitutional
Court overruled government attempts to lift
the ban, prompting protests
— In Britain guidelines say that the full Islamic
veil should not be worn in courts, but the final
decision is up to judges. Schools may forge their
own dress codes and in 2006, courts upheld the
suspension of Aishah Azmi, a Muslim teaching
assistant who refused to remove her veil in class
— German states have the option of choosing to ban
teachers and other government employees from
wearing Muslim headscarves; four have done so
—The Italian parliament in July 2005 approved
anti-terrorist laws that make hiding one's features
from the public — including through wearing
the burka — an offence
— Tunisia, a Muslim country, has banned Islamic
headscarves in public places since 1981.
In 2006 authorities began a campaign against
the headscarves and began strictly enforcing the ban
— The Dutch Government said in 2007 that
it was drawing up legislation to ban burkas,
but it was defeated in elections in November and
the new centrist coalition said it had no plans
to implement a ban
Kan man hoppas att islamistisk kvinno-
förnedring även blir en fråga för EU ?
Självklart kommer inte det svenska "ord-
förandeskapet" att våga ta upp ämnet,
men kanske EU:s reella ledarteam
Merkel-Sarkozy vågar.....
***
För ett knappt år sedan avslöjade The Times att
