All Over an Inch of Flesh

Last month, two schoolgirls were kicked out of school in France for wearing headscarves, a traditional Muslim symbol. While it is legal to wear religious symbols in school, French law forbids the wearing of certain ostentatious religious signs "that constitute an act of pressure, provocation, proselytism or propaganda." Thus, wearing headscarves is acceptable. But when the girls chose to wear "full headscarves" covering their ears, hairline, and neck, the school ruled this provocative and banned them. At the heart of the issue, the author writes, are French secularism and an assimilationist tradition. French state schools are intended to bring immigrants into the fold, providing for the education of good, secular French citizens. As President Jacques Chirac has stated, "secularism is non-negotiable." Security also is a factor, specifically "fear of where a radicalised French Islam might lead," the author writes. But as one of the expelled girls says, "France is hiding behind the principle of secularism because Islam is new, and frightening. I am French, I was born in France. But what are the criteria for being French?" As France struggles to balance its commitments to integration, secularism, and security, the answer to this question seems elusive. – YaleGlobal