France says Islamic veils are not welcome

[QueEx]

Nicolas Sarkozy says Islamic veils
are not welcome in France

Nicolas Sarkozy arrives at the Versailles Palace in Paris. Photograph:
Benoit Tessier/AP



Angelique Chrisafis in Paris
guardian.co.uk
Monday 22 June 2009




Nicolas Sarkozy today took a hard line in France's latest row over Islamic dress, saying full veils and face coverings were a sign of women's debasement and "not welcome" on French soil.

More than 50 MPs, mostly from the president's centre-right UMP party, last week backed calls for a parliamentary inquiry to debate whether Muslim women who wear full-body religious veils with only their eyes visible posed a threat to the republic's secular values and gender equality. A government spokesman had suggested that a law could eventually be proposed to ban full coverings from being worn in public in France.

Sarkozy today used his first state of the nation speech to defend the French republican principle of secularism and attack full Islamic veils.

He said: "The problem of the burka is not a religious problem, it's a problem of liberty and women's dignity. It's not a religious symbol, but a sign of subservience and debasement. I want to say solemnly, the burka is not welcome in France. In our country, we can't accept women prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity. That's not our idea of freedom."

There was raucous applause from MPs and senators. Sarkozy backed the setting up of a parliamentary commission on the issue of full Islamic veils, calling for all arguments to be heard. "But I tell you, we must not be ashamed of our values. We must not be afraid of defending them," he said.

Earlier in his speech, he warned against stigmatising religion in secular France. "We must not fight the wrong battle. In the republic, the Muslim religion must be respected as much as other religions."

Muslim headscarves and all religious symbols were banned in schools in 2004, and the latest row over religious dress is likely to spark more soul-searching and controversy in France.

There are no figures for the number of Muslim women who cover their face, but it is believed to be a very small minority. In France, the terms burka and niqab are often used interchangeably – the former refers to a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan with a mesh screen over the eyes, while the latter is a full-body veil, often in black, with a gap for the eyes.

Critics have already warned that the government risks stigmatising Muslims over a minor and marginal issue. After Sarkozy's speech, the leftwing senator Jean-Pierre Chevènement said the subject was difficult because people were free to dress how they liked in public under French law, but full veils could contravene French ideas on gender equality. He cautioned against whipping up "pointless provocations".

Sarkozy's views on Muslim women's dress came as he set out his social and economic reform themes for the second half of his five-year term. He made history as the first French leader in more than 100 years to address a special sitting of both houses of parliament in the sumptuous setting of the Chateau of Versailles.

For more than a century the parliament has sought to preserve its independence by not allowing France's powerful leaders to address MPs and senators directly. The French constitution was changed last year to allow the president this new privilege, but critics on the left accused Sarkozy of weakening the role of prime minister and behaving like a power-grabbing "hyper-president" or monarch.

Sarkozy used the speech to stress that the financial crisis had brought the "French model" of strong public investment and generous social spending back into fashion across the world.

He warned that the financial crisis was not over and France more than ever needed the public sector, economic and educational reforms he has styled himself as the only man brave enough to deliver.

He ruled out tough austerity measures or raising taxes to deal with France's public debt. Instead, he pledged to raise a new public loan to help France out of the economic crisis, despite the country's ballooning budget deficit.

Sarkozy's plans for the coming years included a review of the French retirement age of 60, tough new carbon tax measures, cuts to health spending and building new prisons.


SOURCE: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/22/islamic-veils-sarkozy-speech-france


.

 

[Alderuhen]

I totally agree with him . What would you do if you were the french president ? Let every women in this country look like this

 

[rikdicoulesmarv]

Majority of Muslimas are NOT BEING FORCED to Dress that Way! Thats a HUGE misconception among non-Muslims!

Holy Quran Verse [2:256] "There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in GOD has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks. GOD is Hearer, Omniscient."

If their Husbands and Fathers force them to wear it they are going against their own Belief!!

...Sarkozy is a Racist Bastard anyway.......ask the Afrikans living in France what they are being subjected to there!

 

[oolong tea]

That's bullshit. Freedom of expression allows women to dress however provided it's dubbed decent by society.

"The problem of the burka is not a religious problem, it's a problem of liberty and women's dignity. It's not a religious symbol, but a sign of subservience and debasement. I want to say solemnly, the burka is not welcome in France. In our country, we can't accept women prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity. That's not our idea of freedom."

But women sashaying in skimpy outfits isn't a form of debasement? Cut off from social life? Are they locked up in sweat shops ? Bring on the next leader of France!

 

[Costanza]

That's bullshit. Freedom of expression allows women to dress however provided it's dubbed decent by society.



But women sashaying in skimpy outfits isn't a form of debasement? Cut off from social life? Are they locked up in sweat shops ? Bring on the next leader of France!

Its subjective... If debasement is a part of the religion, you have no freedom of religion by French standards.

And do they do anything about the debasement in Christian sects that don't allow women to be preach and go by a book that says they cannot speak in church? Nooooo...

Majority of Muslimas are NOT BEING FORCED to Dress that Way! Thats a HUGE misconception among non-Muslims!

Holy Quran Verse [2:256] "There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in GOD has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks. GOD is Hearer, Omniscient."

If their Husbands and Fathers force them to wear it they are going against their own Belief!!

...Sarkozy is a Racist Bastard anyway.......ask the Afrikans living in France what they are being subjected to there!

You're saying there is no textual basis for the burka?

As for the verse you selected, I guarantee you I can find compulsion in the Quran.

 

[thoughtone]

…in a related story.

source: USA TODAY

Posted 6/6/2003 1:34 PM Updated 6/6/2003 5:54 PM

Sultaana Freeman arrives at the Orange County courthouse in Orlando​

Muslim woman cannot wear veil in driver's license photo

ORLANDO (AP) — A Florida judge ruled Friday that a Muslim woman cannot wear a veil in her driver's license photo, agreeing with state authorities that the practice could help terrorists conceal their identities.

After hearing three days of testimony last week, Circuit Judge Janet C. Thorpe ruled that Sultaana Freeman's right to free exercise of religion would not be infringed by having to show her face on her license. (Related: Court order: Freeman vs. Florida)

Thorpe said the state "has a compelling interest in protecting the public from criminal activities and security threats," and that photo identification "is essential to promote that interest."

Freeman, 35, had obtained a license in 2001 that showed her veiled with only her eyes visible through a slit. But after the Sept. 11 attacks, the state demanded that she return to have her photo retaken with her face uncovered. She refused, and the state revoked her license.

Freeman sued the state of Florida, saying it would violate her Islamic beliefs to show her face publicly.

Her case was taken up by the American Civil Liberties Union, which saw the case as a test of religious freedom. Conservative commentators ridiculed the case, saying it would be absurd to allow people to obscure their faces in ID photos.

Assistant Attorney General Jason Vail had argued that Islamic law has exceptions that allow women to expose their faces if it serves a public good, and that arrangements could be made to have Freeman photographed with only women present to allay her concerns about modesty.

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist praised Friday's decision, saying "Nothing is more important than making sure that our people are safe."

Howard Marks, Freeman's attorney, said the ruling would be appealed. The ACLU of Florida said it was disappointed in Thorpe's statement that while Freeman "most likely poses no threat to national security," others may take advantage of a ruling in her favor to threaten lives.

"So we have to infringe on Freeman's religious beliefs because of what someone else might do," ACLU legal director Randall C. Marshall said. "It seems to be a funny kind of interpretation on how the law should apply."

Marshall noted that a driver's license can be obtained without a photo in 14 states.

Freeman's lawyers argued that instead of a driver's license photo, she could use other documents such as a birth certificate or Social Security card to prove her identity.

Freeman, a convert to Islam previously known as Sandra Kellar, started wearing a veil in 1997. She had a mug shot taken without the veil after her arrest in Illinois in 1998 on a domestic battery charge involving one of twin 3-year-old sisters who were in her foster care.

Child welfare workers told investigators that Freeman and her husband had used their concerns about religious modesty to hinder them from looking for bruises on the girls, according to the police records. The girls were removed from the home.

 

[LookAtThatAss]

Im french & all I can say is that Sarkozy is a goddamn racist...trust me!

 

[rikdicoulesmarv]

Its subjective... If debasement is a part of the religion, you have no freedom of religion by French standards.

And do they do anything about the debasement in Christian sects that don't allow women to be preach and go by a book that says they cannot speak in church? Nooooo...


You're saying there is no textual basis for the burka?

As for the verse you selected, I guarantee you I can find compulsion in the Quran.

There is a textual basis for covering but nowhere is there a mention of a Burka or such:

Holy Quran Verse [24:31] "And say to the faithful women to lower their gazes, and to guard their private parts, and not to display their beauty except what is apparent of it, and to extend their headcoverings (khimars) to cover their bosoms (jaybs), and not to display their beauty except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband's fathers, or their sons, or their husband's sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their womenfolk, or what their right hands rule (servants), or the followers from the men who do not feel sexual desire, or the small children to whom the nakedness of women is not apparent, and not to strike their feet (on the ground) so as to make known what they hide of their adornments. And turn in repentance to Allah together, O you the faithful, in order that you are successful."

Furthermore a Verse that is directed exclusively to the Wives and Daughters of the Prophet and Muslim Women:

Holy Quran Verse [33:58]
"O Prophet! Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the faithful to draw their outergarments (jilbabs) close around themselves; that is better that they will be recognized and not annoyed. And God is ever Forgiving, Gentle."


COMPULSION
-The act of compelling.
-The state of being compelled.

-An irresistible impulse to act, regardless of the rationality of the motivation: “The compulsion to protect the powerful from the discomfort of public disclosure feeds further abuse and neglect” (Boston Globe).
-An act or acts performed in response to such an impulse.

Have fun finding Compulsion in the Quran.......you wouldnt be the first to set out on that Mission.
Bet you wont find it.....................not even in coherence with a Burka or Veil FORCING anyone to wear it etc.

You have to understand that most Muslim Women are FIRM believers in their religious Text so if that Text says it's better for them to cover AND gives them a Reason WHY (as highlighted in verse 33:58) they are gonna do it if thats what makes them feel better about themselves in terms of Self-Respect and obedience to God.

Good day!

 

[Spectrum]

Interesting....

 

[African Herbsman]

Bullshit.

 

[QueEx]

<font size="5"><Center>
Al Qaeda warns France
of revenge for burka stance</font size></center>


AFP
By Ola Galal
Jun 23, 2009


DUBAI (AFP) — Al-Qaeda's North Africa wing threatened on Tuesday to take revenge on France for its opposition to the burka, calling on Muslims to retaliate against the country, the US monitoring service SITE Intelligence reported.

Earlier this month, President Nicolas Sarkozy said the burka, which covers the whole face, was not welcome in the strictly secular country.

"Yesterday was the hijab (the Islamic headscarf long banned in French schools) and today, it is the niqab (the full veil)," Abu Musab Abdul Wadud, head of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb was quoted as saying.

<SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">"We will take revenge for the honour of our daughters and sisters against France and against its interests by every means at our disposal."</span>

The group also called on Muslims to retaliate for what it called French "hostility" against the community and its attempt to obstruct Islam's practice on its territory.

"For us, <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">the mujahedeen ... we will not remain silent to such provocations and injustices," </span>Abdul Wadud said without elaborating, according to SITE.

"<SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">We call upon all Muslims to confront this hostility with greater hostility, and to counter France's efforts to divide male and female believers from their faith with a greater effort ... (by) adherence to the teachings of their Islamic sharia."</span>

<center>. . .</center>

The French National Assembly set up an inquiry into the rising number of Muslim women who wear the burka.

France is home to Europe's largest Muslim community and faces a dilemma between accommodating Islam and maintaining secularism. In 2004, it passed a law banning headscarves or any other "conspicuous" religious symbols in schools to uphold a separation between church and state.

Al-Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahiri criticized the law, saying the decision showed "the grudge the Western crusaders have against Islam."

France is the only state in Europe to have such a ban.

It is not known how many women wear the burka in France.

The <SPAN style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #ffff00">majority of Muslim clerics around the world do not regard wearing the burka, unlike the head cover, as a religious obligation under Islam</span>.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iw1A5owMJSFColRph36YR5ecTS7g

 

[QueEx]

<font size="5"><center>
Muslim in ‘burquini’ barred from Paris pool</font size><font size="4">

Officials say move was related to hygiene standards, not religious attire</font size></center>

Sama Wareh walks along the sand dressed in swimwear
designed for Muslim women. A French Muslim was denied
entry to a swimming pool for wearing an Islamic-style full-
body swimsuit. Officials say the head-to-toe "burquini" is
unhygienic and harmful to other bathers, but the woman
complains of religious discrimination.



MSNBC
August 12, 2009




PARIS - A Muslim woman garbed in a head-to-toe swimsuit — dubbed a "burquini" — may have opened a new chapter in France's tussle between religious practices and its stern secular code.

Officials on Wednesday insisted they banned the woman's use of the Islam-friendly swimsuit because of France's unusually strict hygiene standards in pools — not because of official hostility to wearing overtly Muslim garb.

Under the policy, swimmers are prevented from wearing any street-compatible or baggy clothing, such as Bermuda shorts, in favor of figure-hugging suits.

Nonetheless the woman, a 35-year-old convert to Islam identified only as Carole, complained of religious discrimination after trying to go swimming in a "burquini," a full-body swimsuit, in the town of Emerainville, southeast of Paris.


<font size="4">‘This is nothing but segregation’</font size>

She was quoted as telling the daily Le Parisien newspaper that she had bought the burquini after deciding "it would allow me the pleasure of bathing without showing too much of myself, as Islam recommends."

"For me this is nothing but segregation," she added.

The issue of religious attire is a hot topic in France, where head-to-toe burqas or other full-body coverings worn by Muslim fundamentalists are in official disfavor.

France is home to western Europe's largest Muslim population, estimated at 5 million, and Islam is the nation's second religion after Roman Catholicism.

A 2004 law banning the wearing of Muslim head scarves at public schools sparked fierce debate. That legislation also banned Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses in public classrooms.

French lawmakers recently revived the issue of Muslim dress with a proposal that the burqa and other voluminous Muslim attire be banned.

President Nicolas Sarkozy, a conservative, backs the move, saying such garb makes women prisoners.

The "burquini" covers the arms to the wrists and the legs to the ankle and has a hood to cover neck and hair.


<font size="4">‘These clothes are used in public’</font size>

An official in charge of swimming pools for the Emerainville region, Daniel Guillaume, said the refusal to allow the local woman to swim in her "burquini" had nothing to do with religion and everything to do with public health standards.

"These clothes are used in public, so they can contain molecules, viruses, et cetera, which will go in the water and could be transmitted to other bathers," Guillaume said in a telephone interview.

"We reminded this woman that one should not bathe all dressed, just as we would tell someone who is a nudist not to bathe all naked," he said.

Guillaume said France's public health standards require all pool-goers to don swimsuits for women and tight, swimming briefs for men — and caps to cover their hair. Bathers also must shower before entering the water.

Guillaume said Carole had tried to file a complaint at a local police station, but her request was turned down as groundless.

Carole told the daily Le Parisien she would protest with the help of anti-discrimination groups.

Emerainville Mayor Alan Kelyor said he could not understand why the woman would want to swim in head-to-toe clothes.

"We are going back in civilization," he said by telephone. Women have fought for decades for equal rights with men, he said. "Now we are putting them back in burqas and veils."


<font size="4">Sales are strong for suits</font size>

The suits have a clear market.

Women "jump on the occasion so they can swim with their families. Otherwise, they end up staying on the beach and watching," said Leila Mouhoubia, who runs an online site from France that specializes in the sale of Islamic swimsuits. Sales, she said, are strong.

"I think it's forbidden (in France) because it presents an image of the Muslim woman (and) they have prejudices against Muslims," she said by telephone. "They want women to be undressed."

Mouloud Aounit, head of the anti-racism group known as MRAP, said the decision to ban Carole from the pool appeared fair, since pool authorities were observing regulations. But Aounit lamented that the incident was likely to fuel religious tensions.

"The rules must be the same for everybody, regardless of the color of their skin or their religion," Aounit said. "The concern I have is that this case will again lead to stigmatization of the Muslim population in France."

The all-body suits, worn regularly by some women in Muslim countries, are growing popular in the West. They can be seen on female Muslim lifeguards on Australian beaches, in the United States and various European countries, from the Netherlands to Sweden — which OK'd them after two women won discrimination cases last year.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32388642/ns/world_news-europe/?GT1=43001

 

[QueEx]

Osama threatens to kill
French nationals over ban on burqa

Times of India
October 28, 2010

CAIRO: Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden threatens in a new audio tape to kill French citizens to avenge their country's support for the US-led war in Afghanistan and a new law that will ban face-covering Muslim veils.

In the tape obtained by satellite TV station Al-Jazeera and posted on its website, bin Laden said France was aiding Americans in killing of Muslim women and children in an apparent reference to the war in Afghanistan. He said the kidnapping of five French citizens in the African nation of Niger last month was a reaction to what he called France's oppression of Muslims.

"How can it be right that you participate in the occupation of our lands, support the Americans in the killing of our women and children and yet want to live in peace and security?" said bin Laden, addressing the French.

"It is a simple and clear equation: As you kill, you will be killed. As you capture, you will be captured. And as you threaten our security, your security will be threatened. The way to safeguard your security is to cease your oppression and its impact on our nation, most importantly your withdrawal from the ill-fated in Afghanistan."

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...als-over-ban-on-burqa/articleshow/6826025.cms

 

[QueEx]

Interesting, after Al Qaeda's supposedly No. 2 man, Ayman Zawahiri, allegedly said that Barack Obama is a "House Negro", Osama bin Laden now curiously refers to the war in Afghanistan as "Bush war" - despite the fact that many (on and off this board) say that Obama has merely picked up the guantlet and is mirroring the Bush administration.


QueEx

 

[Liquidheater]

Majority of Muslimas are NOT BEING FORCED to Dress that Way! Thats a HUGE misconception among non-Muslims!

Holy Quran Verse [2:256] "There shall be no compulsion in religion: the right way is now distinct from the wrong way. Anyone who denounces the devil and believes in GOD has grasped the strongest bond; one that never breaks. GOD is Hearer, Omniscient."

I thank you for your post. Non-muslims get their misinformation from non-muslims and anti-muslims and can't readily accept the truth.

Most folks don't understand how many supposed muslim characteristics and/or attributes are really local non-islaamic traditions and practices.

There are more than a billion muslims roaming the planet. The vast majority of muslims are non-arab and have little or no concern with any arab/israeli conflict or face veils or restricting the education or aspirations of women.

 

[Alaskanredman]

I thank you for your post. Non-muslims get their misinformation from non-muslims and anti-muslims and can't readily accept the truth.

Most folks don't understand how many supposed muslim characteristics and/or attributes are really local non-islaamic traditions and practices.

There are more than a billion muslims roaming the planet. The vast majority of muslims are non-arab and have little or no concern with any arab/israeli conflict or face veils or restricting the education or aspirations of women.

A complex thought will always be lost on the dumb. This isn't the first time that they have heard this and they don't care. They prefer a simple answer to complex concepts.

 

[charlie dark]

Personally I think the veis are ridiculous, but I think the state is entering dangerous civil liberty grounds banning it!!!

 

[QueEx]

France's ban on burqas, niqabs
to take effect Today
​

​

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c a b l e n e w s n e t w o r k
From Niki Cook,
April 11, 2011


Paris (CNN) -- France's controversial ban on wearing Islamic veils such as burqas
and niqabs takes effect Monday.

A silent protest march against the burqa ban is planned for Monday morning in
Paris.

The ban pertains to the burqa, a full-body covering that includes a mesh over
the face, and the niqab, a full-face veil that leaves an opening only for the eyes.

The hijab, which covers the hair and neck but not the face, and the chador,
which covers the body but not the face, apparently are not banned by the law.

"The ban does not target the wearing of a headscarf, head-gear, scarf or glasses,
as long as the accessories do not prevent the person from being identified," the
Interior Ministry said in a statement

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon last month defended the ban as being in
keeping with national values.

"The French Republic lives in a bare-headed fashion," he said in an official
government newspaper explaining the law.

The law imposes a fine of 150 euros ($190). The person breaking the law can be
asked to carry out public service duty as part of the punishment or as an alternative
to the fine.

The law was passed in October but included a six-month period to inform people
of the penalty before it went into effect.

Penalties for forcing a person to wear a burqa are part of the law, and they became
effective immediately in October.

Forcing a woman to wear a niqab or a burqa is punishable by a year in prison and a
30,000 euro fine (about $43,400). Forcing a minor to do the same thing is punishable
by two years in prison and a fine of 60,000 euros.

The government has called this coercion "a new form of enslavement that the republic
cannot accept on its soil."

The practice has sparked a debate over religious freedom.

The French Constitutional Council said the law did not impose disproportionate
punishments or prevent the free exercise of religion in a place of worship, finding
therefore that "the law conforms to the Constitution."

"Given the damage it produces on those rules which allow the life in community,
ensure the dignity of the person and equality between sexes, this practice, even
if it is voluntary, cannot be tolerated in any public place," the French government
said when it sent the measure to parliament in May of last year.

Lawmakers have also cited security reasons for forbidding people from covering
their faces in public.

French people backed the ban by a margin of more than four to one, the Pew Global
Attitudes Project found in a survey last year.

Some 82 percent of people polled approved of a ban, while 17 percent disapproved.
That was the widest support the Washington-based think tank found in any of the
five countries it surveyed.

Clear majorities also backed burqa bans in Germany, Britain and Spain, while two out
of three Americans opposed it, the survey found.

Amnesty International had repeatedly urged France not to impose the ban, saying
it violates European human rights law.




http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/04/11/france.burqa.ban/

 

[QueEx]

<iframe title="YouTube video player" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/LuMISZxcffo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[ronmch20]

I, probably like a lot of people, have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand there's the government's interference in religious beliefs and practices. Then on the other, I can't help but wonder how I would feel being relegated to essentially a shroud with peep holes.

 

[QueEx]

I, probably like a lot of people, have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand there's the government's interference in religious beliefs and practices. Then on the other, I can't help but wonder how I would feel being relegated to essentially a shroud with peep holes.

Yeah, I have mixed emotions about this one, as well. I have respect for Muslim religious teachings/traditions, so long as they (and those of any other religion) do not pose some unreasonable risk of harm to everyone else. I would feel Claustrophobic if I had to wear peep-hole garments, but thats probably because I didn't grow up being thus confined.

I realize, however, that because I didn't grow-up with people wearing burqas and other garments that cover their faces, I probably have a real fear of not having the feeling of knowing what one might be hiding or thinking behind that veil -- despite the fact that:

"Smiling faces sometimes pretend to be your friend
Smiling faces show no traces of the evil that lurks within
Smiling faces, smiling faces sometimes
They don't tell the truth uh
Smiling faces, smiling faces
Tell lies and I got proof"​

and thats The Undisputed Truth.


QueEx

 

[Brother Blues]

The nerve of someone wanting their drivers license picture with just the eye slit

Whatever happened to 'when in Rome,do as the Romans'....

 

[SKATTA]

Religious folks are funny.

 

[QueEx]

Burkinis banned on Cannes beaches amid terror concerns




By Sheena McKenzie,
Tatiana Reiter and
Ben Marcus, CNN
August 12, 2016


(CNN) - Burkinis are among the overtly religious outfits banned from some of France's most popular beaches, amid growing terror concerns.

Cannes, a city on the French Riviera famous for its annual film festival, has banned overtly religious clothing on the beach in the wake of recent terror attacks in France and other western European countries.

Those breaking the temporary ban, which runs from July 28 until August 31, face fines of €38 ($42), said the Cannes mayor's office. No one has so far been fined.

The burkini is an Islamic full-length swimming suit, seen on display (left) in a Dubai department store.
​

Terror fears
The mayor implemented the ban in light of recent terror attacks in the country.

"A beach outfit showing in an ostentatious manner a religious affiliation, given that France and religious places are currently the target of terrorist acts, has the nature of creating risks of troubles of public order (mobs, conflicts, etc.) that are necessary to be prevented," said the new law.

It comes nearly a month after a terror attack in nearby Nice, where a man drove a heavy truck through a Bastille Day crowd on the city's main beach promenade, killing 84.
Just over a week later, 86-year-old priest Jacques Hamel, 86, was stabbed to death in a separate terror attack on a church in Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in northern France.


Human rights infringement?
Human rights activists are questioning the legality of the ban.

Hervé Lavisse, president of the Cannes-Grasse section of the Human Rights League, told CNN the ban would be counterproductive because "instead of appeasing people, it will inflame tensions."

Lavisse believes the decree will be deemed illegal by the administrative tribunal in Nice, and noted that because it was a temporary measure, it "resembles a publicity stunt."

Feiza Ben Mohamed, spokeswoman for France's Federation of the Muslim South, told CNN that some women on Cannes beaches were continuing to wear burkinis, but they had not been approached by police or fined.

She added that the ban on overtly religious beach outfits didn't just apply to burkinis. "Veiled women, Jewish kippa and nuns no longer have the right to be on the beach," said Ben Mohamed in a tweet.


Waterpark woes
The ban comes as a planned burkini-only day for Muslim women at a water park near Marseille was canceled by city officials, after threats were sent to the event's organizers.

The private event, organized by the women's community group Smile 13, sparked outrage among some politicians and French citizens who claimed it was an affront to France's rigorously enforced secularism.

Read more: Burkini-only event at French water park canceled


What are France's burqa laws?

Women in France are banned from wearing burqas in public.​

In April 2011, France became the first European country to ban wearing in public the burqa, a full-body covering that includes a mesh over the face, and the niqab, a full-face veil with an opening for the eyes.

Those breaking the law face fines of 150 euros (about $205) or public service duties.

The law was upheld by the European Convention on Human Rights in 2014, after a 24-year-old woman brought the case to court, claiming it infringed on her religious freedom.

The government also previously banned Muslim headscarves and other "conspicuous" religious symbols in French schools, in February 2004.

​

SOURCE: http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/12/europe/burkini-ban-cannes-beach/

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[QueEx]

France's top court suspends burkini ban

© REUTERS/Stringer A Muslim woman wears a burkini, a swimsuit that leaves only the face, hands and feet
exposed, as she swims in the Mediterranean Sea in Marseille, France, August 17, 2016.


France's highest administrative court on Friday suspended a controversial ban on the burkini by a French Riviera town after it was challenged by rights groups.

In a judgement expected to set a precedent, the State Council ruled that local authorities could only restrict individual liberties if wearing the Islamic swimsuit was a "proven risk" to public order.

The judges said there was no such risk in the case before the court concerning Villeneuve-Loubet, one of around 30 towns to have introduced the bans.

The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) hailed the ruling as a "victory for common sense".

Police have fined Muslim women for wearing burkinis on beaches in several towns, including in the popular tourist resorts of Nice and Cannes, sparking controversy in France and abroad.

The burkini bans have triggered a fierce debate about women's rights and the French state's strictly-guarded secularism.


- 'Line in the sand' -

Amnesty International welcomed the ruling.

"By overturning a discriminatory ban that is fuelled by and is fuelling prejudice and intolerance, today's decision has drawn an important line in the sand," Amnesty's Europe director John Dalhuisen said.

"French authorities must now drop the pretence that these measures do anything to protect the rights of women," he said.

The CFCM's secretary general Abdallah Zekri said: "This victory for common sense will help to take the tension out of a situation which has become very tense for our Muslim compatriots, especially women."

The State Council heard arguments from the Human Rights League and an anti-Islamophobia group.

A court in Nice had upheld the Villeneuve-Loubet ban this week.

President Francois Hollande said Thursday that life in France "supposes that everyone sticks to the rules and that there is neither provocation nor stigmatisation".

Anger over the issue was further inflamed this week when photographs in the British media showed police surrounding a woman in a headscarf on a beach in Nice as she removed a long-sleeved top.

The office of Nice's mayor denied that the woman had been forced to remove clothing, telling AFP she was showing police the swimsuit she was wearing under her top, over a pair of leggings, when the picture was taken.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls on Thursday condemned any "stigmatisation" of Muslims, but maintained that the burkini was "a political sign of religious proselytising".

"We are not at war with Islam... the French republic is welcoming (to Muslims), we are protecting them against discrimination," he told BFMTV.

But in a sign of the divisions within the Socialist government on the issue, Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem said the "proliferation" of burkini bans "was not a welcome development".

Vallaud-Belkacem, who is of Moroccan origin, took issue with the wording of the ban in Nice which linked the measure to the jihadist truck attack in the resort last month in which 86 people were killed.

"In my opinion, there is nothing to prove that there is a link between the terrorism of Daesh and what a woman wears on a beach," she said, using another term for Islamic State.

But Valls contradicted his minister's claims, saying the bans were necessary to maintain "public order".




- 'No legal justification' -

The administrative court in Nice ruled Monday that the Villeneuve-Loubet ban was "necessary" to prevent "public disorder" after the Nice attack and the murder of a Catholic priest by two jihadists in northern France.

But in its ruling, the State Council said: "In the absence of such risks, the emotion and the concerns arising from terrorist attacks, especially the attack in Nice on July 14, are not sufficient to legally justify a ban."

The so-called burkini bans never actually mention the word burkini, although they are clearly aimed at the garment which covers the hair but leaves the face visible and stretches down to the ankles.

The vague wording of the prohibitions has caused confusion.

Apart from the incident in the photographs in Nice, a 34-year-old mother of two told AFP on Tuesday she had been fined on the beach in the resort of Cannes wearing leggings, a tunic and a headscarf.

France was the first European country to ban the wearing of the Islamic face veil in public in 2010.



SOURCE: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...ini-ban/ar-BBw5zYj?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp



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[QueEx]

This Teen Made History by Wearing a ​

Burkini at the Miss Minnesota USA Pageant






Halima Aden made history over the weekend by wearing a burkini and hijab during the Miss Minnesota USA pageant.

The competition saw a series of firsts from the 19-year-old, who became the first fully-covered Muslim woman in the contest, and the first contestant to wear the burkini during Sunday’s semi-final swimsuit round. The teenager, who was born in a refugee camp in Kenya before moving to the U.S. at the age of six, did not win the pageant, but she told CBS that she hopes her participation helped combat misconceptions about
Islam.

“For a really long time I thought being different was a negative thing. But as I grew older, I started to realize we are all born to stand out, nobody is born to blend in,” Aden told CBS. “How boring would this world be if everyone was the same?”


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   Liz Sawyer ‏@ByLizSawyer 13h13 hours ago
   Liz Sawyer Retweeted Faiza Mahamud
   
   Our follow up coverage from tonight's pageant:https://twitter.com/faiza_mahamud/status/803064468561334272…
   
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   Faiza Mahamud @faiza_mahamud
   Somali-American teen makes semifinals at Miss Minnesota USA pageant http://strib.mn/2fCJOAr by @ByLizSawyer
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   Liz Sawyer ‏@ByLizSawyer 15h15 hours ago
   Halima Aden, who made semifinals tonight, does post-pageant interviews while in her evening gown.pic.twitter.com/cuNHvjxVQa
   
   
   
   
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   Liz Sawyer ‏@ByLizSawyer 15h15 hours ago
   Meridith Gould, 22, of Minneapolis, crowned 2017 Miss Minnesota USA. She will compete at televised Miss USA pageant next year on FOX.
   
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SOURCE: http://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/...pageant/ar-AAkQZzK?li=BBmkt5R&ocid=spartanntp



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[QueEx]

“For a really long time I thought being different was a negative thing. But as I grew older, I started to realize we are all born to stand out, nobody is born to blend in,” Aden told CBS. “How boring would this world be if everyone was the same?”

. . . whether we want to be, or not . . .


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