Re: ...I think the French are screwed up on this one. I don't think any Govt. should intervene on the dress (the hijab, I believe). Tomorrow there will be calls to ban the Jewish skull caps, and in Europe it is a possibility since the wave of anti Semitism is strong.
I remember I discussed that issue in a former life....
fr.groups.yahoo.com
As I said, Europe is undergoing a "domestic decolonization" that mirrors that of the 1960s.... The US faced a similar havoc in the 1960s (Alabama, Rev M.L. King, civil rights,...). Contrariwise, the US is entangling itself in colonial ventures abroad --just like the French, the Brits, the Belgians were up to the 1960s (in Algeria, Africa,...)
In the French article above, I point to the fact that, sixty years ago, the Jews were compelled to wear the infamous yellow star so that "true-born" Europeans (the Nazis and their non-German allies claimed) could easily identify --and ostracize-- them. The Jews were a minority that sought to live harmoniously in Europe, that is, unconspicuously... and it failed. Today, North African youths don't want to hide their cultural/religious heritage --somehow, they behave preemptively by voluntarily wearing a distinctive headscarf... As I said several years ago on another thread, young Muslims are a much unrulier breed to handle: they won't be pushed around like the Jews of yore... I mean, just imagine how the whole Nazi drama would have played out if Jewish youths had held mass demonstrations in Germany, France, Belgium, Holland,... to oppose the yellow star! Don't get me wrong though: I don't insinuate that the European Jewry is guilty of its own plight under Nazi Europe in the 1930s/40s... The Zeigeist of Europe was different: grass-roots movements and public opinion didn't work out as they do today... Society as a whole was rather "top-bottom" instead of "bottom-up" (just think of the so-called Fuehrerprinzip)... Anyway, just imagine the reaction of these same Muslim/Arab youths if French authorities decided to impose a "green crescent" badge for all Arabs... Hint: on December 31st, 2003 alone, about 200 cars were arsoned in France's ghettoes and the media barely mentioned it --it's become a "suburb fixture".
Gus |
