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| Europe |
| Hotline offers dress code advice to French Muslim schoolgirls |
| 2004-09-02 |
| Muslim schoolgirls in the eastern French region of Alsace, an area of high Arab immigration, are seeking advice from a telephone hotline on the appropriate dress code for the new headscarf-free term. France's controversial law banning the Islamic headscarf in schools will be tested for the first time when the new term opens today. And students in Alsace, as in the rest of the country, will have to heed a secularity law which prohibits the wearing of symbols or clothing that "conspicuously" display religious identity. For a week, 25-year-old Nora has been manning a free-phone hotline in a Strasbourg suburb handing out advice to young veiled Muslims on the chances of being turned away from school doors. "There's no miracle solution. The law says clearly that the veil is prohibited," says Nora. Though the law is framed so that no religion is singled out — Jewish stars of David, large Christian crosses and Sikh turbans are also banned — no one disputes that the main target is the headscarf worn by increasing numbers of teenage Muslim girls. "Theoretically, they don't have the right to refuse you access to the yard but in the classroom there is a strong chance that you will be refused and sent away," Nora advises 15-year-old schoolgirl Sarah over the phone. Since the free-phone hotline was set up on August 24, around 30 girls, the majority from the Alsace region bordering Germany, have been in touch seeking advice. There has also been an increasing number of abusive and threatening calls. "Call us, you're not alone!" says one of the dozens of leaflets in the call centre, promising "help through dialogue, moral support, legal assistance, an alternative and support schooling in case of exclusion." "We haven't had time to hand them out. It's word of mouth for the moment," said Nora, herself a law graduate who wears a headscarf completely covering her neck and hair. The hotline is an idea of the Union of Islamic Organisations in France, the League of Muslim Women and an association that legally defends Muslims run by Strasbourg doctor and Muslim convert Thomas Milcent. The Alsace region's Muslim leader Abdulhaq Nabawi, who visited the call centre Tuesday, hailed "all initiatives enabling young women not to find themselves alone in the test. I dare to hope that there will be a normal interpretation of the law and that discreet signs will be admitted," said Milcent. |
| Posted by:TS(vice girl) |
| #6 Contn'd... The provenience is rather uncertain, but I believe it is attributable to Lady Cam, a brave Canuckistan resident. Correct me if I am mistaken. (Don't take the last request seriously, I never am.) |
| Posted by: Zarathustra 2004-09-02 7:11:58 PM |
| #5 Anonymouse, I have to dispell the myth right here and now! The correct expletive is such: Aloha Snackbar! Thus spake Zarathustra |
| Posted by: Zarathustra 2004-09-02 7:07:12 PM |
| #4 anonymouse, they should also be sure that their clothing is bullet proof and a metal collar hidden under their scarves would be handy in stopping any attempted throat slashings from their brothers. |
| Posted by: peggy 2004-09-02 3:10:44 PM |
| #3 Nick DePalo on TOUGH CROWD had a wonderful couple of lines... The French are the only nation in the world to allow a citizens head to be cut off over fashion. The French and the Muslims should compromise, they can wear the Islamic headgear but they have to wear a leather miniskirt with it. |
| Posted by: RJ Schwarz 2004-09-02 1:38:56 PM |
| #2 I understand the headscarfs are made of acid-resistant material...something any smart muslim girl should be without. allan ahkbar!!! Long live allan!!! |
| Posted by: anymouse 2004-09-02 1:37:01 PM |
| #1 It's been set up by one infamous convert, the Dr. Abdallah Thomas Milcent, a long time pal of Gulbudin Hekmatyar, opponent of the "islamophobia" and active propager of the strategy of tension in France. Link about his bio here (in french, mais oui): http://athee.free.fr/milcent.html |
| Posted by: Anonymous5089 2004-09-02 1:30:32 PM |