“When you enter a classroom, you shouldn’t be able to identify a student’s religion by looking at them,” French education minister Gabriel Attal said, justifying the decision to ban the use of the language. abaya (loose garment normally worn by Muslim women that covers the whole body except the head, hands and feet) and the Qamis (long suit worn by men). Right applauded. But the left is divided, with unsubmissive France taking the fight and the Socialist Party more favorable on the principle of secularity – despite criticism of the government for making this the priority for the return to school.
The elected representatives of ‘Os Republicanos welcomed the decision and said that they have long banned the use of abaya in schools and noting that the Minister of Education agrees with them. At 34, Attal is the youngest to take on this portfolio, having been appointed just over a month ago. His predecessor, Pap Ndiaye, had left the decision to the discretion of the school principals, allowing for different readings of the 2004 law banning the use of religious symbols in educational institutions.
The far right is seeing the decision with satisfaction, but a National Assembly (former National Front) deputy, Grégoire de Fournas, claimed on Twitter (renamed X) that “without stopping immigration is like emptying the sea with a small spoon”. Marine Le Pen’s party spokeswoman, Laure Lavalette, criticized the former minister’s inaction on this issue, deploring the “lost time” and saying that “there is still a lot to do”.
On the left, Unsubmissive France leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon also commented on social media: “The grief of seeing politics polarized by an absurd and wholly artificial new religious war over a woman’s dress. When will there be civil peace and a genuine secularism that unites rather than irritates?” One of her group members, Clémentine Autan, was more radical, speaking of a “clothing police” and deeming Attal’s announcement “unconstitutional” as “contrary to the tenets of secularism” and “symptomatic of the obsessive rejection of Muslims” ‘. .
The French socialists, however, are more in favor of the government’s decision. Deputy Jérôme Guedj recalled on Twitter that the “compass is the ban on apparent symbols in school” and that if the abaya or the Qamis are used in that way, so it is necessary to ban them, as enshrined in the law of 2004. Proselytism” in schools. Socialist spokesman Fatiha Keloua Hachi resorted to irony on the same social network. “It is true that this is the priority of this return to school: there is no shortage of teachers, counselors for students with disabilities, school doctors, classrooms are not overcrowded, social diversity is a reality everywhere…”He wrote.
What does the law say?
The law of May 15, 2004, currently in force in France, prohibits the use of symbols purportedly belonging to a religion in public schools. Three days later, a circular specified that “signs and garments the use of which leads to immediate recognition of religious affiliation are prohibited, such as the Islamic headscarf, whatever name it may be given, the yarmulke. [usado pelos judeus] or a cross [cristã] of manifestly excessive magnitude”.
Relative to abayasAnother circular was published in November last year, stating that it should also be banned if used “in a way that visibly expresses religious belief.” The French Muslim Worship Council issued an opinion in June that the abaya “not a muslim religious symbol”. But the doubts remained, all the more so because the circular left the decision in practice in the hands of the school principals, which was not to everyone’s liking, as there were those who argued that they should not be the ones to take on that weight. Attal is now making the situation clear, before the start of the new school year. The announcement was made on TF1 on Sunday night, ahead of a back-to-school news press conference.
On Monday, the minister reiterated to journalists that the abayas ‘have no place in schools’, as educational institutions are ‘put to the test’. Attal further recalled that “in recent months, violations of secular rules have increased significantly, especially with regard to wearing religious clothing such as abayas and the Qamis which appeared and remained in some educational institutions”.
According to data available to AFP, attacks on secularism have increased since teacher Samuel Paty was killed outside a school in 2020 after showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in class. Between the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 school years, the increase was 120%. The use of religious symbols, which represents the majority of cases, has increased by more than 150% in the past school year.
Source: DN
