Thread: French immigration official: 'No burqas in the street'

French immigration official: 'No burqas in the street'

Posted 6m ago

PARIS (AP) — France's immigration minister has proposed a debate on French "national identity," saying it should not include face-covering Muslim veils such as the burqa.

Eric Besson says "the burqa runs counter to national values." Speaking on LCI television Sunday, he said, "for me, no burqas in the street."

A French parliamentary commission is holding six months of discussions on the wearing of face- and body-covering veils, and some politicians have suggested a ban.

Besson suggested a public debate on France's "national identity," a concept likely to rankle immigrants' and minority rights groups.

Besson also defended a government decision to send illegal Afghan immigrants back to Kabul on charter flights last week.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2009 ... tion_N.htm

Besson also defended a government decision to send illegal Afghan immigrants back to Kabul on charter flights last week.

The United States needs more leaders like Eric Besson. What is it about the word illegal you do not understand?

Wouldn't a burqa make a good halloween costume ?

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Go for it, as no one will know if there is male or female under that outfit. I haven't seen any around here, but I would imagine it could get hard to see after dark through the screen for trick or treating.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Wouldn't a burqa make a good halloween costume ?

LOL...yes it would be a good costume. But the face covering thing....it should not be allowed because then if someone commits a crime they can not be identified. In fact, when San Francisco legislators were considering putting an end to the Halloween bash in Castro District, they cited face covering as one of the problems. You got drunk crowds and everyone in costumes, including masks. Some crimes were committed and ....what are you going to say? The Skeleton did it? But even on an average day, face coverings can be a problem. Someone could go into a bank and rob it in a burqa...then shed the burqa. They could be men, women...who knows.

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Wouldn't a burqa make a good halloween costume ?

LOL...yes it would be a good costume. But the face covering thing....it should not be allowed because then if someone commits a crime they can not be identified. In fact, when San Francisco legislators were considering putting an end to the Halloween bash in Castro District, they cited face covering as one of the problems. You got drunk crowds and everyone in costumes, including masks. Some crimes were committed and ....what are you going to say? The Skeleton did it? But even on an average day, face coverings can be a problem. Someone could go into a bank and rob it in a burqa...then shed the burqa. They could be men, women...who knows.

But burqas are allowed in public in the U.S. every day.

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Originally Posted by redpony353

Originally Posted by JohnDoe2

Wouldn't a burqa make a good halloween costume ?

LOL...yes it would be a good costume. But the face covering thing....it should not be allowed because then if someone commits a crime they can not be identified. In fact, when San Francisco legislators were considering putting an end to the Halloween bash in Castro District, they cited face covering as one of the problems. You got drunk crowds and everyone in costumes, including masks. Some crimes were committed and ....what are you going to say? The Skeleton did it? But even on an average day, face coverings can be a problem. Someone could go into a bank and rob it in a burqa...then shed the burqa. They could be men, women...who knows.

But burqas are allowed in public in the U.S. every day.

I know they are. But they should not be allowed...or at least not the face covering. Anyone could just throw on a burqa and commit a crime...and no matter how many security cameras there are, they would be useless. You would not even know if the perp was male or female....let alone what age or race they were. In fact it might even be difficult to tell if they were skinny or stocky. You could guess the height and thats it.

Non! Don't Ban the Burqa in the U.S.

French President Sarkozy this week gave his support to attempts to bar Muslim women from wearing body-cloaking robes such as the burqa. What's your view? Is this a private religious matter or a public/government one? Is the burqa welcome in America?

The United States has done very well in letting people wear clothing that reflects their religious commitment. Americans are used to seeing fellow Americans wearing yarmulkes or crosses or headscarves or turbans and even burqas. The more we become a religiously diverse nation, the more such clothing is appearing in public and the more Americans are becoming used to it.

Religious pluralism is just that--a way for a society to cultivate acceptance of different faiths. The American Constitution shows the way. No religion is established (officially supported) over any other. Being a person of faith, or a person of no faith, is of absolutely no concern to your government. Leave it alone. We're doing fine. The burqa is as welcome in America as much as is my cross or my clerical collar.

The French are just asking for religious conflict in officially banning the burqa. Their much-vaunted laïcité (secularity) is proving to be as much a rigid ideology as any religion whose expression they fear.

It is presumptuous, even arrogant, to tell people of another faith what is and is not religious. "The burqa is not a religious sign," President Sarkozy said. Not only does the French President presume to say what is and is not religious, he presumes to tell women what the burqa means to them. "It is a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic." If the quality of women's lives is a concern to the French President, then he should consider that traditional Muslim women in France would be forced to remain indoors if their preferred dress is banned.

It does not surprise me that President Sarkozy did not follow President Obama's wise course and refuse to present a convenient target to the Iranian government in the recent protests over Iran's election results. He jumped right in with charges of "fraud!" If Sarkozy isn't careful, France may become "The Great Satan" now that President Obama and the United States have decided not to play that game of "You're evil, no you're evil" any more. And wouldn't that be an irony for a government pushing for secularity?

If what you want is conflict, then take a hard line that forces people into a defensive posture where they will feel they have no choice but to fight back.

The only people who should decided whether to wear the burqa or not are Muslim women. Stay out of it, Sarkozy.
Liberté, Egalité, Sororité!

http://tinyurl.com/mnvzqe

Well I have to agree when it comes to the REASON the French want to burqa out. They are not doing it for securtiy reasons, but just because they dont like it. Otherwise they could just get rid of the screen part that covers the face. I think one of the reasons also is because there is much anti-muslim sentiment there because of some of the social unrest they have been causing in the streets. That has something to do with it.