Is the most recent attack on the Burqa a sign of religious hostility behind a veil of liberalism? asks Tim Welch
The headscarf row has again ignited in France with a fresh attack on the Burqa, which the French see as symbolic of extremism and oppressive on women.
President Nicholas Sarkozy recently argued in front of an agreeable audience in his first state of the nation address that the Burqa is “not a religious symbol, but a sign of subservience and debasement”.
However, such arguments are weak and misconceived.
Many women freely choose to wear the Burqa as a manifestation of their religious belief.
Sarkozy argued that the Burqa is “not a religious symbol”, yet he is wholly unqualified to interpret the theological premise of Islamic dress and prohibition is in itself oppressive. In a liberal society the state has no place in dictating how people dress in the street, particularly when this restricts their right to manifestation of religious belief.
The real threat to liberal values comes not from the Burqa, but from
