Saturday, February 12, 2005
Turban, Fehmi, Eveleme Geveleme
Sat, 12 Feb 2005 22:29:08 -0800 (PST)
From:
"UMIT SEN" Add to Address Book Add Mobile Alert
Subject:
Turban, Fehmi, Eveleme, Geveleme
To:
fkoru@yenisafak.com
Haci Fehmi Koru Bey Hazretleri
Son yazinizda "YOK yada Anayasa mahkemesi turban konusunda son noktayi koyamaz" diye buyurmus ve o cok sevdiginiz turbani takabilmek icinde girmeyi kopek deliginde bekletildiginiz Bati dunyasindan ornekler vermeye calisirken yine eveleyip gevelemissiniz,
Ben neden boyle eveleyip gevelediginizi 5 dakika arastirdim. Asagida gonderdigim uc yazi, bu eveleme geveleme halinizin nedenlerini somut orneklerle ortaya koyuyor. Hele Yuksek Ogrenim Kurumu yada herhangi bir kurulus turbani yasaklayamaz diye fetva vermenize ise gulmeden edemedim.
Simdi ben size soruyorum;
1) Fransa basbakani Jean-Pierre Raffarin eger bir uzlasmaya gidilemezse butun dini sembollarin (turban dahil) Fransa’daki okullarda yasaklanmasi icin kanun cikarmaya hazir oldugunu bildirmis.
Bkz. Reuters, September 23, 2003, Muslim headscarves upset secular Europe, Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/4761-.html
Siz turbani Turkiye’deki okullarda Meclis’ten kanun cikararak serbest biraktirdiktan sonra AB’ye Fransa’nin vetosunu yemeden nasil gireceksiniz?
2) Amerika’da turban taktigi icin Marine Academy of Science and Technology, de NAVY ROTC programindan ayrilmak zorunda kalan 14 yasindaki ogrenci kiz,
Philadelphia Police Department’da turban taktigi icin isinden atilan Musluman kadin acaba Turkiye’demi yasiyorlarmis? (bknz Muslim scarf at heart of disputes around U.S.Associated Press, Oct. 25, 2003 Wayne Parry )
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/4832-.html
Amerika ozgurlukler ulkesi degilmiymis? Amerika gibi bir ulkede 'Türban' gibi temel hak ve özgürlüklerle ilgili bir konuda son noktayý neden isteyen kurum istedigi gibi koyabiliyor acaba?
3) Kur’an o zamanin sartlari geregi ortunmeyi (encourage) eder, Cuneyt Ulsever avanaginin dedigi gibi emretmez.
O nedenle bu konu inananin tercihine birakilmistir. Siz bu devirde mi yasiyorsunuz yoksa umrede yere yan gelip yatarak elle kebap yediginiz M.S. 6nci yuzyilda mi?
Lutfen evelemeden gevelemeden, ses ve solugunuzu uzun sure kesmeden cevap veriniz
Gozlerinden oper eveleyip gevelemeyen cevabinizi dort gozle beklerim
Umit Sen
Muslim headscarves upset secular Europe
Reuters, Sep. 23, 2003Tom Heneghan, Religion Editoruk.news.yahoo.com
• More news articles on Islam
ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 4577 • Posted: 2003-09-23 16:50:52
PARIS (Reuters) - Is it only a piece of innocent cloth or the thin end of a threatening wedge?The traditional Muslim woman's headscarf is causing such controversy in some European countries that prime ministers and supreme courts are being asked to decide when it can be worn.The hijab, as it is called in Arabic, has offended Europe's teachers, bureaucrats and modern-minded women for over a decade. The September 11 attacks in the United States heightened fears that the veil could be covering a head full of radical thoughts.Germany's highest court tackles the issue on Wednesday when it rules on whether Stuttgart school authorities were right to bar Afghan-born Fereshta Ludin from a teaching job because her headscarf would violate the state's neutrality in religion.In France, a state commission is debating whether Paris should forbid Muslim girls from wearing a scarf to class.Not all Europeans have such troubles. The British, for example, generally shrug at the headscarves in their Muslim neighbourhoods as just another part of a multicultural society.Not all Muslim women in Europe wear headscarves, either. But the ones who do are increasingly teenagers and young women who have grown up in Europe and want their full rights but also consider modesty in clothing an Islamic duty.Where it is an issue, the headscarf has challenged notions about integration and religious rights. Deeper down, it uncomfortably recalls struggles over religion that modern secular societies thought they had long put behind them."This traumatic history is coming back in the confrontation with Islam," the German weekly Die Zeit observed.RIGHTS, SECULARISM AND SEXISMFereshta Ludin's case is the second the German supreme court has handled in as many months. In August, it ruled that Muslim shop assistants could not be fired for wearing a headscarf, despite managers' complaints that they put off customers.Ludin, a German citizen fully qualified to teach, argues that her constitutional right to practise her religion includes the right to cover her head at work.In France, the militant secularism born of the church-state struggles a century ago sees the headscarf as a challenge to the modern state that ignores citizens' religious or ethnic ties.Lacking a clear law against it, though, teachers feel helpless as the scarf-wearing fashion spreads in the poor suburbs where Europe's largest Muslim minority lives.Women intellectuals also reject the head covering as a sign of a macho view of women challenging the advances Western society has made. "If we accept this symbol, the equality of the sexes is finished," says philosopher Elisabeth Badinter.Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has said he was ready to pass a law banning all religious effects in schools and public offices if the state commission cannot find a compromise.The headscarf issue is also linked to popular feelings against immigration, as clearly seen in the Netherlands last year when populist Pym Fortuyn -- who was later assassinated -- whipped up a following by railing against Muslim immigrants.Even in traditionally tolerant Sweden, Nadja Jebril, an ethnic Palestinian, finally won the right to have her own cooking programme on state television after she was originally turned down for another show because of her headscarf.Fed up with all the fuss, she told an interviewer last weekend: "I am a human being with a lot of feelings and thoughts, not just a piece of cloth." Read uk.news.yahoo.com online
Muslim head scarves force France to grapple with its identity
Associated Press, Oct. 19, 2003Elaine Ganleycbsnewyork.com
• More news articles on Islam
ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 4761 • Posted: 2003-10-20 01:03:37
PARIS (AP) A century ago, France pulled down the crucifixes hanging in its classrooms in a triumphant climax to its fight to separate the state from the powerful Roman Catholic Church.Today, battle lines are being drawn over another religious emblem, the Islamic head scarf, which some French see as a threat to their nation's core values and unity.
The Hijab
A bitter debate over whether the head-covering can be worn in public schools, or by civil servants, has festered for nearly 15 years and deepened as France's Muslim sons and daughters come of age.Some see it as a flag of Islamic militancy, or a sign of submission to men. Others see it as the start of a spiral into unknown territory that could transform France's definition of itself.With 5 million Muslims, more than 8 percent of the population and increasingly assertive, France is becoming concerned for its hard-won secular underpinnings guaranteed by the constitution.So deep are these concerns that President Jacques Chirac established a commission in July to study just where secularism stands in a country with the largest Muslim population in Europe.``It is indeed the question of our national cohesion that is being posed,'' Chirac said in July. ``We cannot remain passive.''Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has threatened that if necessary he'll pass a law to impose secularism. ``I'm not afraid of Islam,'' he said last spring.The issue isn't just the humble head scarf. Both Chirac and the prime minister have voiced disapproval over other Muslim demands that they see as challenging basic tenets of what it is to be French: sexually segregated classrooms, a school calendar that respects Muslim holy days, and the refusal to take oral exams with professors of the opposite sex.But it is the scarf that has captured center stage.The level of debate racheted up with the expulsion this month of two sisters from the Henry Wallon high school in Aubervilliers, a Paris suburb, for refusing to remove their scarves.``They were chased out of school like dogs,'' said Laurent Levy, father of Lila, 18, and Alma, 16. He claimed fear of Islam is ``eating away at French society.''Teachers said the school acted on complaints from some Muslim pupils who wanted the ban enforced.Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy backed the expulsion, and Francois Hollande, leader of the opposition Socialist Party, agreed, saying: ``The law must be applied. We're in a secular country.''Each year, there are about 150 complaints involving head scarves, according to Hanifa Cherifi, the Education Ministry's mediator who intervenes in crisis situations. Unresolved cases lead to expulsion fewer than 50 last year, Cherifi said.Even among Muslims there is disagreement over whether their religion mandates the scarf that in most cases covers hair, ears and sometimes forehead and shoulders. But hundreds of girls defy the unwritten code forbidding scarves in public schools. While many schools tolerate it, it leads to conflicts, teachers' strikes and court cases in others.There are large Muslim communities in neighboring countries, from Britain to Belgium. Incidents involving scarves are usually settled quietly on the local level, but in September, Germany's highest court failed to resolve the case of a Muslim woman who was denied a state teaching job unless she doffed her scarf.The court asked Germany's 16 states to draft laws on scarves in state institutions, and four of them quickly announced they would seek to legislate a ban.``The head scarf, after all, is not just folklore and a mere symbol (but) a demonstration of an _expression of faith,'' said Hesse state minister for schools, Karin Wolff.The Council of State, France's highest administrative body, has said scarves should be banned only when they are of an ``ostentatious character.'' It left schools to make that judgment case by case.The same rules apply to Jewish skullcaps and Catholic crucifixes. But there have been no public incidents triggered by students insisting on wearing skullcaps or ``ostentatious'' crosses. There are many private Jewish schools in France, where skullcaps can be worn, but only two such Muslim schools.In July, a Lyon court ruled against a civil servant suspended for refusing to remove her scarf at work. A month earlier, a Paris appeals court upheld a decision in favor of a woman who lost a private sector job after refusing to shed her scarf. Paris City Hall is debating whether to suspend a city social worker who refuses to remove her scarf or shake the hand of men she meets on the job.``We're in a sort of circle, like a serpent biting its tail,'' said Sylvie Taleb, principal of the Averroes Lycee, France's first Muslim high school, located in a mosque in the northern city of Lille. Taleb, who teaches French, is a convert from Catholicism and wears a head scarf.Many women say it's an inseparable part of their identity.``It's practically my arm, my foot,'' said Fatima Ezahoui, a 37-year-old mother of four living in Villepinte, north of Paris. ``It's part of me.''She dismisses the debate as a ``false problem.''``It's like the young girls and their head scarves will destabilize the country,'' she said. ``Is France that fragile?''France redefined itself in 1905 with a law separating church and state. Crosses were even forbidden on coffins during funeral processions, said Michele Tribalat, a sociologist. Rancor evolved into separate but peaceful coexistence.The increase in Muslim girls insisting on wearing scarves to school parallels a rise in Muslim fundamentalism over the past 15 years, and a general increase in demands by minorities.``Today, Islam is seen and shows itself, and that stirs fears,'' said Franck Fregosi, an expert at the National Center for Scientific Research.France has for centuries fully assimilated its diverse population, which adopts French values whatever their origins. It is a model directly opposed to the Anglo-Saxon melting pot.``We're not completely sure of ourselves in this matter because our model is coming apart before our eyes,'' said Tribalat, the sociologist. Read cbsnewyork.com online
Muslim scarf at heart of disputes around U.S.
Associated Press, Oct. 25, 2003Wayne Parrywww.ajc.com
• More news articles on Islam
ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 4832 • Posted: 2003-10-25 17:34:39
Atlantic Highlands, N.J. --- Growing up on the shores of Sandy Hook Bay, Mona Elgohail always loved the sea and was delighted to win a slot at a special high school for the study of marine sciences.But the 14-year-old eventually dropped out of the Marine Academy of Science and Technology because of a conflict between her Islamic faith and the school's requirement that all students take part in Naval Junior ROTC training.
The Hijab
As a devout Muslim who will observe Ramadan this weekend, Elgohail insisted on wearing her hijab, the head scarf encouraged by the Quran but prohibited by the Navy. The school tried to work with her on several alternatives --- and officials even exempted Elgohail from the ROTC requirement in the end --- but she dropped out of the school as a matter of principle.''They looked at it like it was a hat problem, like it was no big deal. But it was,'' she said. ''It's part of my religion. It was my choice to wear it. When I make a decision, I stick to it.''Her experience is one of many playing out across the country in which authorities have questioned those wearing the hijab. From schools to police departments to airlines to motor vehicle agencies, the scarf is welcomed in some places, tolerated in others and banned in still others.''A lot of it is probably just due to a lack of education about Islam,'' said Faiza Ali, director of the New Jersey office of the Council on American Islamic Relations. ''Hijab is a very visible symbol that one is a Muslim. Unfortunately, they see that and they jump to the next conclusion: 'Muslim terrorist' or 'Muslim fanatic,' and it scares them.''Many authorities cite safety in prohibiting the scarves, arguing that they can be used to conceal identity or hide weapons.Indiana University recently dropped a ban on women wearing head scarves for student ID photos after four Muslim women complained. In Daytona Beach, Fla., a Muslim woman who initially was denied a state ID card when she refused to remove her hijab eventually got one when she agreed to adjust the covering to permit her full face to be seen in the photo.In Cleveland, the Cuyahoga County Jail agreed last year to let Muslim women wear head scarves in the jail and when they appeared in court.American Airlines reached an out-of-court settlement last year with a woman who said she was turned down for a customer service job when she insisted on wearing the hijab. The airline, which said it offered her a different job, changed its policy in 1999 to permit the wearing of hijabs, crucifixes, yarmulkes and other religious attire by uniformed employees who deal with customers.But rulings in other parts of the country have gone against the hijab. Philadelphia police officials told a Muslim officer in August that she would be fired if she wore her hijab to work again. The department contends the garment is dangerous because a suspect could grab it and injure the officer.And an Oklahoma school district is in a dispute with an 11-year-old girl who was suspended for refusing to take off her hijab at school. Nashala Hearn will be allowed to wear the scarf while a school attorney reviews the Muskogee district's policies.In Elgohail's case, leaving the Marine Academy was her decision. She tried covering her hair with a hat and a bandanna, but that didn't work. The principal, Paul Christopher, eventually agreed to exempt her from the ROTC requirement, but she didn't want to be the only student in the school who was left out of it, and later enrolled in a different high school.The academy, part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District, is extremely competitive, accepting only students with the highest grades.''I tried so hard to get into that school,'' she said. ''Making it in is a big deal, and I didn't want to leave. It's the best place to study marine science. I still want to go back, but only if I could wear the scarf with the uniform. I really like that school.''Christopher said the Navy issues uniform regulations, which his school is powerless to change. In a prepared statement, the Navy said a black or ''hair-color'' yarmulke is the only visible religious item that can be worn with the uniform.It said the Navy has received ''a handful'' of requests to wear other religious items by sailors of varying faiths since the uniform policy was implemented in December 1977.''The requests have been disapproved because they do not fit discreetly with the military uniform, interfere with military headgear, and may not meet safety standards,'' the Navy statement read
From:
"UMIT SEN"
Subject:
Turban, Fehmi, Eveleme, Geveleme
To:
fkoru@yenisafak.com
Haci Fehmi Koru Bey Hazretleri
Son yazinizda "YOK yada Anayasa mahkemesi turban konusunda son noktayi koyamaz" diye buyurmus ve o cok sevdiginiz turbani takabilmek icinde girmeyi kopek deliginde bekletildiginiz Bati dunyasindan ornekler vermeye calisirken yine eveleyip gevelemissiniz,
Ben neden boyle eveleyip gevelediginizi 5 dakika arastirdim. Asagida gonderdigim uc yazi, bu eveleme geveleme halinizin nedenlerini somut orneklerle ortaya koyuyor. Hele Yuksek Ogrenim Kurumu yada herhangi bir kurulus turbani yasaklayamaz diye fetva vermenize ise gulmeden edemedim.
Simdi ben size soruyorum;
1) Fransa basbakani Jean-Pierre Raffarin eger bir uzlasmaya gidilemezse butun dini sembollarin (turban dahil) Fransa’daki okullarda yasaklanmasi icin kanun cikarmaya hazir oldugunu bildirmis.
Bkz. Reuters, September 23, 2003, Muslim headscarves upset secular Europe, Tom Heneghan, Religion Editor
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/4761-.html
Siz turbani Turkiye’deki okullarda Meclis’ten kanun cikararak serbest biraktirdiktan sonra AB’ye Fransa’nin vetosunu yemeden nasil gireceksiniz?
2) Amerika’da turban taktigi icin Marine Academy of Science and Technology, de NAVY ROTC programindan ayrilmak zorunda kalan 14 yasindaki ogrenci kiz,
Philadelphia Police Department’da turban taktigi icin isinden atilan Musluman kadin acaba Turkiye’demi yasiyorlarmis? (bknz Muslim scarf at heart of disputes around U.S.Associated Press, Oct. 25, 2003 Wayne Parry )
http://www.religionnewsblog.com/4832-.html
Amerika ozgurlukler ulkesi degilmiymis? Amerika gibi bir ulkede 'Türban' gibi temel hak ve özgürlüklerle ilgili bir konuda son noktayý neden isteyen kurum istedigi gibi koyabiliyor acaba?
3) Kur’an o zamanin sartlari geregi ortunmeyi (encourage) eder, Cuneyt Ulsever avanaginin dedigi gibi emretmez.
O nedenle bu konu inananin tercihine birakilmistir. Siz bu devirde mi yasiyorsunuz yoksa umrede yere yan gelip yatarak elle kebap yediginiz M.S. 6nci yuzyilda mi?
Lutfen evelemeden gevelemeden, ses ve solugunuzu uzun sure kesmeden cevap veriniz
Gozlerinden oper eveleyip gevelemeyen cevabinizi dort gozle beklerim
Umit Sen
Muslim headscarves upset secular Europe
Reuters, Sep. 23, 2003Tom Heneghan, Religion Editoruk.news.yahoo.com
• More news articles on Islam
ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 4577 • Posted: 2003-09-23 16:50:52
PARIS (Reuters) - Is it only a piece of innocent cloth or the thin end of a threatening wedge?The traditional Muslim woman's headscarf is causing such controversy in some European countries that prime ministers and supreme courts are being asked to decide when it can be worn.The hijab, as it is called in Arabic, has offended Europe's teachers, bureaucrats and modern-minded women for over a decade. The September 11 attacks in the United States heightened fears that the veil could be covering a head full of radical thoughts.Germany's highest court tackles the issue on Wednesday when it rules on whether Stuttgart school authorities were right to bar Afghan-born Fereshta Ludin from a teaching job because her headscarf would violate the state's neutrality in religion.In France, a state commission is debating whether Paris should forbid Muslim girls from wearing a scarf to class.Not all Europeans have such troubles. The British, for example, generally shrug at the headscarves in their Muslim neighbourhoods as just another part of a multicultural society.Not all Muslim women in Europe wear headscarves, either. But the ones who do are increasingly teenagers and young women who have grown up in Europe and want their full rights but also consider modesty in clothing an Islamic duty.Where it is an issue, the headscarf has challenged notions about integration and religious rights. Deeper down, it uncomfortably recalls struggles over religion that modern secular societies thought they had long put behind them."This traumatic history is coming back in the confrontation with Islam," the German weekly Die Zeit observed.RIGHTS, SECULARISM AND SEXISMFereshta Ludin's case is the second the German supreme court has handled in as many months. In August, it ruled that Muslim shop assistants could not be fired for wearing a headscarf, despite managers' complaints that they put off customers.Ludin, a German citizen fully qualified to teach, argues that her constitutional right to practise her religion includes the right to cover her head at work.In France, the militant secularism born of the church-state struggles a century ago sees the headscarf as a challenge to the modern state that ignores citizens' religious or ethnic ties.Lacking a clear law against it, though, teachers feel helpless as the scarf-wearing fashion spreads in the poor suburbs where Europe's largest Muslim minority lives.Women intellectuals also reject the head covering as a sign of a macho view of women challenging the advances Western society has made. "If we accept this symbol, the equality of the sexes is finished," says philosopher Elisabeth Badinter.Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has said he was ready to pass a law banning all religious effects in schools and public offices if the state commission cannot find a compromise.The headscarf issue is also linked to popular feelings against immigration, as clearly seen in the Netherlands last year when populist Pym Fortuyn -- who was later assassinated -- whipped up a following by railing against Muslim immigrants.Even in traditionally tolerant Sweden, Nadja Jebril, an ethnic Palestinian, finally won the right to have her own cooking programme on state television after she was originally turned down for another show because of her headscarf.Fed up with all the fuss, she told an interviewer last weekend: "I am a human being with a lot of feelings and thoughts, not just a piece of cloth." Read uk.news.yahoo.com online
Muslim head scarves force France to grapple with its identity
Associated Press, Oct. 19, 2003Elaine Ganleycbsnewyork.com
• More news articles on Islam
ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 4761 • Posted: 2003-10-20 01:03:37
PARIS (AP) A century ago, France pulled down the crucifixes hanging in its classrooms in a triumphant climax to its fight to separate the state from the powerful Roman Catholic Church.Today, battle lines are being drawn over another religious emblem, the Islamic head scarf, which some French see as a threat to their nation's core values and unity.
The Hijab
A bitter debate over whether the head-covering can be worn in public schools, or by civil servants, has festered for nearly 15 years and deepened as France's Muslim sons and daughters come of age.Some see it as a flag of Islamic militancy, or a sign of submission to men. Others see it as the start of a spiral into unknown territory that could transform France's definition of itself.With 5 million Muslims, more than 8 percent of the population and increasingly assertive, France is becoming concerned for its hard-won secular underpinnings guaranteed by the constitution.So deep are these concerns that President Jacques Chirac established a commission in July to study just where secularism stands in a country with the largest Muslim population in Europe.``It is indeed the question of our national cohesion that is being posed,'' Chirac said in July. ``We cannot remain passive.''Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin has threatened that if necessary he'll pass a law to impose secularism. ``I'm not afraid of Islam,'' he said last spring.The issue isn't just the humble head scarf. Both Chirac and the prime minister have voiced disapproval over other Muslim demands that they see as challenging basic tenets of what it is to be French: sexually segregated classrooms, a school calendar that respects Muslim holy days, and the refusal to take oral exams with professors of the opposite sex.But it is the scarf that has captured center stage.The level of debate racheted up with the expulsion this month of two sisters from the Henry Wallon high school in Aubervilliers, a Paris suburb, for refusing to remove their scarves.``They were chased out of school like dogs,'' said Laurent Levy, father of Lila, 18, and Alma, 16. He claimed fear of Islam is ``eating away at French society.''Teachers said the school acted on complaints from some Muslim pupils who wanted the ban enforced.Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy backed the expulsion, and Francois Hollande, leader of the opposition Socialist Party, agreed, saying: ``The law must be applied. We're in a secular country.''Each year, there are about 150 complaints involving head scarves, according to Hanifa Cherifi, the Education Ministry's mediator who intervenes in crisis situations. Unresolved cases lead to expulsion fewer than 50 last year, Cherifi said.Even among Muslims there is disagreement over whether their religion mandates the scarf that in most cases covers hair, ears and sometimes forehead and shoulders. But hundreds of girls defy the unwritten code forbidding scarves in public schools. While many schools tolerate it, it leads to conflicts, teachers' strikes and court cases in others.There are large Muslim communities in neighboring countries, from Britain to Belgium. Incidents involving scarves are usually settled quietly on the local level, but in September, Germany's highest court failed to resolve the case of a Muslim woman who was denied a state teaching job unless she doffed her scarf.The court asked Germany's 16 states to draft laws on scarves in state institutions, and four of them quickly announced they would seek to legislate a ban.``The head scarf, after all, is not just folklore and a mere symbol (but) a demonstration of an _expression of faith,'' said Hesse state minister for schools, Karin Wolff.The Council of State, France's highest administrative body, has said scarves should be banned only when they are of an ``ostentatious character.'' It left schools to make that judgment case by case.The same rules apply to Jewish skullcaps and Catholic crucifixes. But there have been no public incidents triggered by students insisting on wearing skullcaps or ``ostentatious'' crosses. There are many private Jewish schools in France, where skullcaps can be worn, but only two such Muslim schools.In July, a Lyon court ruled against a civil servant suspended for refusing to remove her scarf at work. A month earlier, a Paris appeals court upheld a decision in favor of a woman who lost a private sector job after refusing to shed her scarf. Paris City Hall is debating whether to suspend a city social worker who refuses to remove her scarf or shake the hand of men she meets on the job.``We're in a sort of circle, like a serpent biting its tail,'' said Sylvie Taleb, principal of the Averroes Lycee, France's first Muslim high school, located in a mosque in the northern city of Lille. Taleb, who teaches French, is a convert from Catholicism and wears a head scarf.Many women say it's an inseparable part of their identity.``It's practically my arm, my foot,'' said Fatima Ezahoui, a 37-year-old mother of four living in Villepinte, north of Paris. ``It's part of me.''She dismisses the debate as a ``false problem.''``It's like the young girls and their head scarves will destabilize the country,'' she said. ``Is France that fragile?''France redefined itself in 1905 with a law separating church and state. Crosses were even forbidden on coffins during funeral processions, said Michele Tribalat, a sociologist. Rancor evolved into separate but peaceful coexistence.The increase in Muslim girls insisting on wearing scarves to school parallels a rise in Muslim fundamentalism over the past 15 years, and a general increase in demands by minorities.``Today, Islam is seen and shows itself, and that stirs fears,'' said Franck Fregosi, an expert at the National Center for Scientific Research.France has for centuries fully assimilated its diverse population, which adopts French values whatever their origins. It is a model directly opposed to the Anglo-Saxon melting pot.``We're not completely sure of ourselves in this matter because our model is coming apart before our eyes,'' said Tribalat, the sociologist. Read cbsnewyork.com online
Muslim scarf at heart of disputes around U.S.
Associated Press, Oct. 25, 2003Wayne Parrywww.ajc.com
• More news articles on Islam
ReligionNewsBlog.com • Item 4832 • Posted: 2003-10-25 17:34:39
Atlantic Highlands, N.J. --- Growing up on the shores of Sandy Hook Bay, Mona Elgohail always loved the sea and was delighted to win a slot at a special high school for the study of marine sciences.But the 14-year-old eventually dropped out of the Marine Academy of Science and Technology because of a conflict between her Islamic faith and the school's requirement that all students take part in Naval Junior ROTC training.
The Hijab
As a devout Muslim who will observe Ramadan this weekend, Elgohail insisted on wearing her hijab, the head scarf encouraged by the Quran but prohibited by the Navy. The school tried to work with her on several alternatives --- and officials even exempted Elgohail from the ROTC requirement in the end --- but she dropped out of the school as a matter of principle.''They looked at it like it was a hat problem, like it was no big deal. But it was,'' she said. ''It's part of my religion. It was my choice to wear it. When I make a decision, I stick to it.''Her experience is one of many playing out across the country in which authorities have questioned those wearing the hijab. From schools to police departments to airlines to motor vehicle agencies, the scarf is welcomed in some places, tolerated in others and banned in still others.''A lot of it is probably just due to a lack of education about Islam,'' said Faiza Ali, director of the New Jersey office of the Council on American Islamic Relations. ''Hijab is a very visible symbol that one is a Muslim. Unfortunately, they see that and they jump to the next conclusion: 'Muslim terrorist' or 'Muslim fanatic,' and it scares them.''Many authorities cite safety in prohibiting the scarves, arguing that they can be used to conceal identity or hide weapons.Indiana University recently dropped a ban on women wearing head scarves for student ID photos after four Muslim women complained. In Daytona Beach, Fla., a Muslim woman who initially was denied a state ID card when she refused to remove her hijab eventually got one when she agreed to adjust the covering to permit her full face to be seen in the photo.In Cleveland, the Cuyahoga County Jail agreed last year to let Muslim women wear head scarves in the jail and when they appeared in court.American Airlines reached an out-of-court settlement last year with a woman who said she was turned down for a customer service job when she insisted on wearing the hijab. The airline, which said it offered her a different job, changed its policy in 1999 to permit the wearing of hijabs, crucifixes, yarmulkes and other religious attire by uniformed employees who deal with customers.But rulings in other parts of the country have gone against the hijab. Philadelphia police officials told a Muslim officer in August that she would be fired if she wore her hijab to work again. The department contends the garment is dangerous because a suspect could grab it and injure the officer.And an Oklahoma school district is in a dispute with an 11-year-old girl who was suspended for refusing to take off her hijab at school. Nashala Hearn will be allowed to wear the scarf while a school attorney reviews the Muskogee district's policies.In Elgohail's case, leaving the Marine Academy was her decision. She tried covering her hair with a hat and a bandanna, but that didn't work. The principal, Paul Christopher, eventually agreed to exempt her from the ROTC requirement, but she didn't want to be the only student in the school who was left out of it, and later enrolled in a different high school.The academy, part of the Monmouth County Vocational School District, is extremely competitive, accepting only students with the highest grades.''I tried so hard to get into that school,'' she said. ''Making it in is a big deal, and I didn't want to leave. It's the best place to study marine science. I still want to go back, but only if I could wear the scarf with the uniform. I really like that school.''Christopher said the Navy issues uniform regulations, which his school is powerless to change. In a prepared statement, the Navy said a black or ''hair-color'' yarmulke is the only visible religious item that can be worn with the uniform.It said the Navy has received ''a handful'' of requests to wear other religious items by sailors of varying faiths since the uniform policy was implemented in December 1977.''The requests have been disapproved because they do not fit discreetly with the military uniform, interfere with military headgear, and may not meet safety standards,'' the Navy statement read
