profile speech expected largely to address the global economic crisis two weeks ago, French president Nicolas Sarkozy bluntly said that burqa is a “sign of subservience, a sign of debasement.” He added that such dress “would not be welcome on the territory of the French republic.” Sarkozy's comments on the burqa sparked fierce criticism from the French Muslim community who have still not digested the Republic's earlier decision to ban headscarfs at public schools. These comments come amid deep-seated fears that the indigenous people of France and Europe are being threatened by the waves of immigrants, largely from Muslim countries who seem un-interested to assimilation attempts made by local authorities. Just after these remarks, France's president was slammed in the media as both a totalitarian who would like to tell his people what to wear and a politician who would like to appease his anti-immigration lobbyists. The bbcarabic.com has asked its readers to react to Sarkosy's remarks. The overwhelming majority of readers believed that such ill-advised remarks are politically motivated and were intended mainly to deflect the public's attention from the serious economic problems facing the country. Face covering The issue of face covering is well-known in the context of Islam. Islamic scholars have differed over the obligation of Niqab. Scholars on either side of the debate have their own evidence from the Qur'an and the Prophet's traditions. Most scholars of the past and present believe covering the face is not a vital requirement, but something commended, for an adult woman. The late Sheikh Nasir-ud-Deen Al-Albani, one of the most prominent Muslim scholars of our time and an authority on Hadith, published a book several years ago reiterating his position that covering woman's face is not an obligation. Even some Saudi scholars like Sheikh Ayed Al-Qarni, who recently went on a month-long tour to France, said that covering of a woman's face is not as emphasized as the covering of a woman's hair and that both ways are acceptable Hijab patterns. Other scholars, however, believe that covering the entire body, including the face and hands, is obligatory on a Muslim woman in front of non-Mahram men. They present their set of evidences and reasoning. Freedom to choose Sarkozy, however, should not dictate to Muslim women which opinion she should follow. Knowing that women constitute half of any country's population, Hijab is not intended to prevent women from exercising their natural rights. It is evident that earlier Muslim women had actively participated in the sociopolitical life of their communities; some of them even took part in military campaigns, a field that was solely restricted to man. France is a well-established democracy and is a fortress of liberty in which one's freedom is a sacred, untouchable doctrine. Wearing burqa is a private choice that should not be used as a bargaining tool by politicians, nor should it be perceived as a threat to the prevailing norms of the society at large. French Muslim women should also know that there is a lack of consensus among Muslim scholars on the Niqab and that the stronger opinion backed by evidence is that it's not obligatory. To sum up, Hijab is not intended to prevent women from performing their duties and responsibilities. It does not hinder them from seeking knowledge or competing in the life's diverse fields, shoulder to shoulder with man. – SG The author can be reached at: [email protected] __
