Is religion only about how we worship? Or is it about how we eat, dress, think, behave, interact socially with others, locally, nationally, globally? Are the differences that important? Should the global community adopt one religious standard that fits all? Would that solve the problem? Or is culture shock a personal fear? A fear that challenges racial and discriminatory religious stereotypes? Or is it only a matter of who is in control of the government, and what they say the law is?
The French Government, democratic, is morally and religiously wrong politically. Women of the Islamic faith should have the moral and religious right to dress as they please according to the principles of their faith. The burqa is an article of clothing, a symbol of their deep commitment to their Islamic faith. I am not Muslim but I understand what religion means to most people who are practitioners of their faith.
In the US the First Amendment would protect these women. It would classify them as a religious group, free to worship their religion anyway they see fit. I cite the Mormons, Puritans, and Quakers. All these eccentric religious groups have dressed radically different from most of the secular US and still do to this day.
The French Constitution of 1946, according to Equal Rights Trust.org construes the Preamble by asserting,
“The Preamble of the Constitution of 1946 is relevant to non-discrimination in that it reiterates the position of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens 1789, and proclaims all human beings equal without distinction of race, religion or belief. It asserts the equality of men and women, and the equality of relations between France and her overseas territories without distinction of race or religion. It also states specific duties of the state such as the obligation to provide free, secular public education accessible to all.
The prohibition of discrimination on grounds of race and religion is emphasized from the outset, due to the adoption of the Constitution during the rebuilding of the French state following the Second World War and the discovery of the atrocities of the holocaust.”
This would appear to be a contradiction if these Muslim women are denied the privilege to practice their religion according to their traditions and beliefs.
Ancient Greek women dressed in a similar fashion in fifth century B.C. Historians assert they covered their bodies from top to bottom as married women, meant, no one was allowed to see their bodies except their husbands. If I were Muslim and married to a Muslim woman I would want her to dress in a burqa too or some garment that conceals her body from the rest of the secular world. That is because the beauty of her body would be for my eyes only, according to God.
This is a violation of the rights of man and woman, and a total contradiction of French democratic principles.
I believe such a racist law as the one enacted by France's National Assembly is out of fear of terrorism. That is, they might believe that such clothing, that covers the entire body, can permit the concealment of weapons or homemade bombs underneath. Further the burqa covers the entire face except for the eyes. It would be possible for a male Jihadists, appearing as a woman, to put on such an article of clothing for the purpose of carrying out a terrorist act.
But I believe the French law goes to far. The US has not adopted such insane policies as this one France has in America. There is no best way probably to deal with this type of culture shock, lawfully. What will most likely to result is a radical religious rebellion by Muslim females in France. Such a probability might incite anger in the Umma, the Islamic community worldwide, and trigger dissent, outrage, and objection from the rest of the global religious community.
In addition to writing commentaries, poetry and novels, I am one half of the macbrothers, Inc. We are songwriters and not artists or performers. We write music for others to perform or record. I do not do tours since I am not an artist. Like I said, we write & record our own songs and release them for purchase online. However, we are interested in nonprofessional or professional artists seeking songs. If you are an artist interested in songs for your album please email me. I will send you the demo and lyrics (and any changes to the lyrics), or you can listen online to our songs readily.
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