In 2004, the French government instituted a ban on the wearing
of "conspicuous signs" of religious affiliation in public schools.
Though the ban applies to everyone, it is aimed at Muslim girls
wearing headscarves. Proponents of the law insist it upholds
France's values of secular liberalism and regard the headscarf as
symbolic of Islam's resistance to modernity. "The Politics of the
Veil" is an explosive refutation of this view, one that bears
important implications for us all.
Joan Wallach Scott, the renowned pioneer of gender studies,
argues that the law is symptomatic of France's failure to integrate
its former colonial subjects as full citizens. She examines the
long history of racism behind the law as well as the ideological
barriers thrown up against Muslim assimilation. She emphasizes the
conflicting approaches to sexuality that lie at the heart of the
debate--how French supporters of the ban view sexual openness as
the standard for normalcy, emancipation, and individuality, and the
sexual modesty implicit in the headscarf as proof that Muslims can
never become fully French. Scott maintains that the law, far from
reconciling religious and ethnic differences, only exacerbates
them. She shows how the insistence on homogeneity is no longer
feasible for France--or the West in general--and how it creates the
very "clash of civilizations" said to be at the root of these
tensions.
"The Politics of the Veil" calls for a new vision of community
where common ground is found amid our differences, and where the
embracing of diversity--not its suppression--is recognized as the
best path to social harmony.
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