Bigotry dressed as gallantry: Sarko and the burqa

France’s strict secularism, entrenched by law since 1905, keeps religion firmly out of the state sphere. There are no religious studies (let alone nativity plays) in state schools, nor may public workers sport the headscarf. The government denies that such policies constrain religious freedom or are especially aimed at Islam. France welcomes private Muslim schools. Mosque-building is widespread. The 2004 headscarf ban outlawed “conspicuous” religious symbols of all faiths. Yet there are growing worries about the spread of hard-line Islamism in the heavily Muslim banlieues.

Now that Mr Sarkozy has publicly condemned the burqa, the chances of a ban have risen sharply. Parliament has launched a cross-party mission to report back in six months. In fact, few women wear the full garment in France. But mayors of cities with big Muslim populations report a steady increase in numbers, due not to immigration but to its adoption by French-born women—often from North African countries where the burqa is not traditionally worn.

“France ponders a burqa ban: No covering up,” The Economist, 25 June, 2009.

AQIM kills American in Nouakchott

Will coment on this shortly.

Some thoughts on the US posture on the Iranian protests

Yet even if the current regime survives the present challenge, the impact of the crisis is likely to be salutary. Iran’s appeal as a model of Islamic governance has been tarnished by this episode: instead of being the principled defenders of the Ayatollah Khomeini’s revolutionary vision of the “rule of the jurisprudent,” his successors now look more like garden-variety authoritarians trying to hang onto privilege and power in the face of widespread popular discontent. And that means Muslims elsewhere will be less inclined to see Tehran as an inspiration, even if they are unhappy with political conditions in their own countries.

Walt, Stephen M., “Prescription for Iran: Patient Containment,” 23 June, 2009.

This is a notion that has taken some currency among American observers of the Iranian disturbances: that the State’s response to the post-election protests will (or has) seriously damaged Iran’s prestige in the eyes of the “world” and that this will weaken its position in its immediate vicinity and the world at large. Ahmadinejad will not longer walk with so full a swagger, and those who sympathize with his rhetoric and system of government will find cause to think again. This blogger is not so sure, at least as far as the Arab world is concerned.

Against H Res 560

H Res 560 was meant to show support for the Iranian people, but reflects a lack of clear headedness among members of Congress. Running contrary to the President’s intentions of treating the current situation with caution for fear of making American “support” a tool of the Iranian regime in its work against the protesters, H Res 560 is self indulgent on the part of Congressmen and women and contrary to the national interest.

Back States-side

Three observations from Egypt before regular blogging commences again:

From Alexandria

Currently I am at a youth forum in Alexandria, having spent some time in Siwa. Will post on this and other subjects very soon.

On Obama’s Cairo speech

Official and unoffficial reactions to Barack Obama’s speech at Cairo University are out, and the minds of many have been made up. Here are this blogger’s reactions to some of its major points, thematically, with emphasis on criticism, not genuflection (for the former is more valuable than the latter).