HUQUQ: Muslims Right To Education Is Superseded By France's Commitment To Secularism

HUQUQ: Muslims Right To Education Is Superseded By France's Commitment To Secularism

    2:42 PM   No comments

 As the new academic year starts, Muslims’ right to education in Europe is denied in order to uphold and enforce secularism. This seems to be the logical conclusion of the events taking place in France this week: Muslim men and women who are wearing traditional clothes are denied entry to schools unless they take off such clothes and wear French style clothes; many refused to do so.

According to a memorandum sent by French Education Minister Gabriel Attal to heads of educational institutions, wearing the abaya and long shirt "expresses religious affiliation in the school environment and cannot be tolerated."

France, home to Europe's largest...

Banning the cloak in French schools begins tomorrow, and Macron is calling for its strict implementation

Banning the cloak in French schools begins tomorrow, and Macron is calling for its strict implementation

    5:21 AM   No comments

The French authorities have confirmed that female students who wear abayas and students who wear long shirts will not enter their classes on Monday, the first day of the school year, amid condemnation by human rights organizations and opposition political currents.

According to a memorandum sent by French Education Minister Gabriel Attal to heads of educational institutions, wearing the abaya and long shirt "expresses religious affiliation in the school environment and cannot be tolerated."

France, home to Europe's largest Muslim minority, has banned the Islamic headscarf in public schools since 2004.

According to French press reports, the ban on the abaya is a continuation of the implementation of the 2004 law, which prohibits the wearing of clothes or symbols that show religious affiliation in French educational institutions.

In July of last year, Le Figaro newspaper published an investigation revealing that despite the continued application of the 2004 law, there is a significant increase in the abayas worn by girls and long shirts worn by boys, so that they doubled in secondary schools, especially when Ramadan begins, so that some The managers expressed their dissatisfaction and wondered why the clothes were so popular.

For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron called - in statements he made the day before yesterday, Friday - for firmness in implementing the abaya ban.

"We will not let anything pass," Macron said during his visit to a vocational high school in Orange, southern France. "We know that there will be cases - perhaps due to negligence - but many cases of trying to challenge the republican system. We have to be firm."

He added that "teachers and school principals should never be left alone to face the existing pressures or challenges on this subject," adding that these "knights of the republic" have "the right to defend secularism," as he put it.

On the other hand, a broad spectrum of French people expressed their condemnation of the decision to ban the cloak, led by the leftist opposition inside and outside Parliament.

Prominent French left-wing politician Jean-Luc Melenchon strongly criticized the decision, and called on officials to avoid provoking conflicts of a religious nature.

Manuel Bombard, coordinator of the France Independence Party - which is led by Melenchon - said that he would propose to the party's parliamentary group to reject this decision - which he described as dangerous and cruel - and to submit it for review before the Council of State in order to prove that it is a decision contrary to the constitution.

Meanwhile, French female students expressed their annoyance at the decision and considered it a blatant interference in their personal freedom.

A student - who asked not to be identified - said in a statement to Al-Jazeera, "It is not within their authority to decide what to wear. They removed the veil from us in 2004, and now they are working to remove the abaya, which is not a religious dress, but rather a cultural traditional dress. To what extent will they continue this?"

Amnesty criticizes a French judicial decision that discriminates against Muslim soccer players

Amnesty criticizes a French judicial decision that discriminates against Muslim soccer players

    5:01 AM   No comments

Amnesty International has criticized a French judicial decision that discriminates against Muslim female soccer players, describing it as "very disappointing" and violating freedom of expression and freedom of religion.

This came in response to Monday's decision by the Council of State which ruled that the French Football Federation did not need to change its discriminatory policy which effectively bars Muslim players who wear headscarves from participating in competitive soccer matches.

"The deeply disappointing decision by the Council of State  entrenches both racism and gender-based discrimination in French football," the organization said.

"The FA's ban on religious clothing not only prevents Muslim female soccer players who wear a hijab from playing in competitive matches, but also violates their rights to freedom of expression, freedom of association, and freedom of religion," she add

According to the organization, the decision ignores the recommendation of the general rapporteur to end this discriminatory ban and seriously undermines efforts to make women's sports more inclusive. It means that Muslim female soccer players in France will continue to be treated differently from other players, in clear violation of many of the country's international human rights obligations."

Founé Diawara, co-chair of Hijabeuses, which brought the case against the French Football Federation to the highest administrative court, said the decision was "a missed opportunity to right a long-standing wrong and simply allow us to play. Our struggle is not political or religious but rather "It is about our human right to participate in sports. Many women are excluded from football fields in France every weekend simply because they wear a headscarf."

The first article of the French Football Association's rules, drawn up in 2016, prohibits players from wearing "symbols or clothing that clearly shows one's political, philosophical, religious or trade union opinions" during matches. This ban remains in place, although FIFA abolished the ban imposed by itself in 2014 on wearing head coverings in football.