They should not, of course, be taken as endorsing my views. But first a caveat:. Much has been written on this subject, some arguing for and some against the right of young Muslim women to wear the headscarf in school; my essay is not part of that debate.
This is also a useful overview of the controversy. Should Muslim girls be allowed to wear a covering over their hair when they are in public schools? The dominant view was definitely that they should not.
A considerable amount of polemic has been published on this topic, in France as well as elsewhere. This was not the first time that the matter had been publicly discussed, but on this occasion the outcome was a law prohibiting the display of religious differences in public schools.
The headscarf worn by Muslim schoolgirls has become the symbol of many aspects of social and religious life among Muslim immigrants and their offspring to which secularists object. See Jerusalem Report 6 May Intellectuals have debated whether, and if so, how, it is possible for religious Muslims to be integrated into secular French society.
The passions that have led to the new law are remarkable, and not only on the part of French Muslims. It is felt by what seems to be the majority of French intellectuals and politicians—of the left as well as of the right—that the secular character of the Republic is under threat by aspects of Islam that they see as being symbolized by the headscarf. I want to suggest that the French secular state today abides in a sense by the cuius regio eius religio principle the religion of the ruler is the religion of his subjects , even though it disclaims any religious allegiance and governs a largely irreligious society.
