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By Kathryn Heffron

It is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practicing religion as they see fit—for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We can’t disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretense of liberalism.[1] –      President Obama

French President Nicholas Sarkozy had made it clear that the veil[2] is not welcome in France.[3] In January 2010, a French parliamentary committee proposed a partial ban on the veil in public spaces such as schools, public hospitals, and on public transport.[4] The debate is continuing in France. In March 2010, the French Council of State suggested that a full public ban on the veil violates the French Constitution and possibly the European Convention on Human Rights. However, it added that there could be justification for limitations on the veil in public spaces.[5] The policy to ban the veil is meant to defend France from extremists and comes just five years after France banned headscarves and other “conspicuous religious items” from schools.[6] Concerned with disruption to state secularism, the European Court of Human Rights has thus far upheld State measures to ban religious clothing in school.[7] Given the rising, prevalent discrimination against Muslims in Western nations[8], one can’t help but wonder whether it is the veil or the Muslim women who wear it, that is unwelcome in France. Continue reading That Unwelcome Encounter With a Veil in the Supermarket