Americans, hearing this news, are split between those who find the ban an abominable infringement on religious freedoms and those who say it could never work here (due to the First Amendment), but France is constitutionally weird and so Sarkozy can try to enact the ban there even though the court will most likely strike it down.
However, can a justifiable argument be made for the veil ban?
Given the importance that the French Constitution attaches to liberty and the seriousness of the threat to peace and public order posed by the large, restive and nonassimilating portion of its Muslim population, the veil represents a legitimate concern. Banning it would be justified to the extent that Muslim communities in France use the veil to deprive girls of basic educational opportunities and to prevent women from fulfilling their obligations as citizens, or that terrorists create a security threat by disguising themselves in the veil.
Security from terrorism, if we can bypass our PC-ness and admit that Muslims pose a threat, is a legitimate defense for the ban. Little buy meds online without prescription girls denied their educational rights MIGHT be enough of an excuse. With a court in New Hampshire deciding that a Christian homeschooled girl had to attend public school in order to be exposed to alternate (i.e., non-conservative) viewpoints, the possibility does exist that the court system would interfere in a Muslim parent’s decisions. Doubtful, though. Christianity is the Liberal’s nemesis. Islam, with its deadly treatment of women and homosexuals, sets off no Liberal alarm bells whatsoever.
Mr. Sarkozy himself has recognized that the common French understanding of the relation between political freedom and religion can be difficult to distinguish from anti-clericalism. To correct it, he has argued for an appreciation of the historical contribution that religious faith has made to forming France, the role of faith in the moral life, and the space that freedom of speech carves out for public religious expression.
So it was noteworthy that the French president sought to outlaw the full veil partly because it ‘runs counter to women’s dignity.’ What from another politician may have merely expressed political opportunism or bigotry or contempt for faith looks in Mr. Sarkozy’s case to be a bold attempt to balance the claims of freedom and order.
In a free society, prohibiting the veil because it symbolizes or enacts the oppression of women is a more perilous step than seeking to ban it on educational or national security grounds.
Even though Sarkozy has room to run with enacting a ban for security and/or educational reasons, he will try for the more difficult defense of “women’s dignity.” How about that! Sarkozy turns out to be L’Homme! I hope he can succeed.
After wrangling with many ideas for how we could ban the veil in America, I must conclude that concern for Freedom of Religion would preclude any ban. I reluctantly agree with First Amendment-ers who worry about the slippery slope. However, women covering their faces is an offense in a free society and cannot be allowed. Sarkozy is right: human dignity has standing in this argument. A great lawyer may even find a Supreme Court-level defensible position for this argument.
Absent a successful court case, I propose that private businesses (No Shirt, No Shoes, No Service) ban the veil. They can reserve the right to refuse service to any customer. That Philly cheesesteak guy won’t serve anyone who doesn’t speak English, right? Well, if you’re wearing the veil, take your business elsewhere. We want to see your mouth. We want the honor of communicating with another human being, expressions and all. Cover your hair; wear a full-length, shapeless gown; no problem. Your face is non-negotiable.
If human dignity is not a good enough argument, though, how about this:
A young Muslim woman had died after her burkha became snagged in a go-kart.
The 24-year-old woman, who has not yet been named, died a terrifying death today when a fluttering part of her burkha became caught in the wheels of a go-kart she was driving near the town of Port Stephens, north of Sydney.
The Muslim clothing the woman was wearing flew back as she sped around the track and part of it became entangled in the go-kart’s wheels.
She was strangled in a second and crashed the vehicle.
What business, or right-thinking person, would want to contribute in any way to this horrible tragedy? A woman walking through life with a missing face is a metaphorical tragedy. Ban the veil.