France to Ban the Burka?

France is talking about the Islamic burka. What's a burka? You know, that all-concealing dress that Islamic women wear, pictured here.

French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, in a very rare and very provocative address to Parliament said of the burka, "It will not be welcome on French soil...We cannot accept, in our country, women imprisoned behind a mesh, cut off from society, deprived of all identity. That is not the French republic's idea of women's dignity."

Another article notes that "Sarkozy’s speech today marked the first time a French president has addressed lawmakers since 1875 after a law preventing such direct communication was overturned last year."

Look, I'm very sympathetic to France feeling threatened by the burka. They have 5 million Muslims in France, and that's starting to make the French, who are already a bit skiddish (in America we call it a Napoleon complex), very nervous. I'm sympathetic to their feeling overwhelmed by what they view as an oppressive world view. I understand.

But the timing of this couldn't possibly be worse. Talk about giving fodder to the Iranian regime! And not just the Iranian regime, but all kinds of Islamic radicals will be able to paint this as the first step in a new Franco Crusade against Islam. This is just a moronic move. Assuming Sarkozy wants to have a propaganda war on Islam in his country, this is a strategic blunder. This will only galvanize Muslims and further alienate them from the rest of France. What a moronic thing to do!

But far, far more importantly, what about freedom of religion? Are there some women that wear burkas who feel oppressed by them because their father or their husband makes them wear it? Possibly. But this is a matter of religious piety for them. This is their religion. This is what they believe. Don't they have a right to believe it?

And now France is talking about outlawing it. What's next, will France outlaw the Koran? Even if it can be demonstrated that a religion is evil, you STILL can't outlaw it. You can only prosecute criminal behavior. You cannot outlaw a religion. Where does it end? If you outlaw one religion, what's to stop the outlaw of all religions?

The current debate in France is DANGEROUS and wrong-headed. Let Muslims wear their burkas.

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