Of all the images that have come to symbolize the post-9/11 clash of cultures, one remains particularly provocative: That of an Islamic woman covering her face with a veil. France has gone so far as to outlaw the practice in public, asserting it is incompatible with society’s ideals of secularism and gender equality. Is this an example of cultural prejudice? Not entirely, according to newly published research that suggests Westerners' discomfort with the veil reflects deeper psychological impulses. “The attempt to decode emotions in covered faces leads one to perceive more ... Read More
Burqa Ban a Boundary to Multicultural Impulse?
April 11, 2011 • By • Leave a Comment
Arrests have already been made — albeit the stylized arrests that accompany much protest in the West — as France enacted its long-discussed ban on face coverings in public. French authorities cite dignity and curtailing patriarchy in its law, while opponents cite religious freedom. Objections so far, in France and beyond, have been measured, especially given reactions to say, umm, cartoons. A reasonable take was offered by a Saudi housewife opining from Jeddah: "If women are made to dress a different way and wear their hijab in Saudi Arabia and we respect it, then we should respect the ... Read More
A Modest Proposal: Outlaw Retrograde Mormon Dress
May 26, 2010 • By • 9 Comments
The recent hysteria in Europe over burqas and other full-face veils may have a salutary effect if it convinces both Americans and Europeans to think a little harder about their own parallel societies. Evidence that it's hysteria is simple: Christopher Hitchens and other pundits weren't calling for unprecedented Western laws against certain types of clothing, say, three years ago. But starting last year, when French President Nicolas Sarkozy first proposed a law restricting Muslim veils, Hitchens jumped on the French bandwagon and said the U.S. should "consider banning the burqa." Oddly, ... Read More
Big Love Soaking the State
May 19, 2010 • By • 5 Comments
Last month a Muslim woman in France, driving her car in a niqab, was pulled over and fined $30 for wearing clothes that blocked her vision. A niqab is a full veil with just an eye slit, and the traffic stop has become a comedy of unintended consequences, in part because it's not clear that driving in a veil transgresses any French law. But the unnamed woman is married to Lies Habbadj, a halal butcher in Nantes who appears to be a polygamist in every sense but the French legal one. He lives in a house with his wife, surrounded by houses where four other women raise a total of 12 children, ... Read More
Banning Burqas on Both Sides of the Atlantic
May 5, 2010 • By •
A fad for outlawing Muslim veils has swept northern Europe this spring. France is on the verge of following Belgium with a bill to force veil-wearing Muslim women to uncover their faces in public or government-managed areas. President Nicolas Sarkozy, who's backing a bill the French parliament will consider this month (May), has claimed the ban is not in any way an attack on Islam. The veils "do not pose a problem in a religious sense," Sarkozy spokesman Luc Chatel said in April, "but threaten the dignity of women." Most Americans might see this European trend as a strange encroachment of ... Read More
Banning Burqas in Europe
April 28, 2010 • By • 6 Comments
Last week, Belgium almost became the first European country to ban wearing full-face veils, before the prime minister attempted to resign and the government collapsed. "We cannot allow someone to claim the right to look at others without being seen," parliamentarian Daniel Bacquelaine, a member of the Reformist Movement party, argued in the weeks before a government crisis in Belgium took everyone's attention off the law he had proposed. "It is necessary that the law forbids the wearing of clothes that totally mask and enclose an individual. Wearing the burqa in public is not compatible ... Read More
The Veil Becomes a Fashion Statement
February 11, 2010 • By • 1 Comment
A few weeks ago, Iraqi journalist Dalya Hassan created a stir with an essay in The Washington Post explaining why she had decided to don a veil. Before her marriage, Hassan went about her home country uncovered. She describes her prenuptial wardrobe as "short skirts and shirts with short sleeves," perfect for the sweltering heat of Baghdad summers. But when her new husband told her she needed to wear a hijab, she reluctantly agreed. Though hot and uncomfortable, Hassan admits that, "after 2003, wearing the hijab became a means of protection." And, she points out, "male relatives forc[ing] ... Read More
