DISCUSSION TOPIC: HIJAB IN THE NEWS

The Misssion

This discussion uses controversies involving the wearing of the hijab as a way to explore such larger issues as the role of women within Islam; the relations between Muslims and non-Muslims and between church/mosque and state in the West; and the meanings of citizenship, tolerance and religious freedom.

The exercise is divided into two parts.

Part I: To gain some focus, start by reading intensively about the 2004 decision by the French government to prohibit the wearing of the hijab in the nation's schools.  Come prepared to defend one side or the other of the debating resolution.  We will spend the first half of class in debate.  Many news articles and other items can be accessed from the France And The Hijab resources section immediately below.

The Resolution:  It was appropriate for the French government to prohibit the wearing of headscarves in public schools.

Part II:  The second part of the assignment involves a comparative examination of controversies involving the hijab specifically and other Muslim-associated female clothing more generally.  Read several news articles from those listed below about the hijab in different countries.  Use the Part II Questions as one way to organize your thoughts.  You can, of course, complement my resources with your own independent research.

Part I On-Line Resources: France And The Hijab

• How is the French concept of separation of church and state connected to the French idea of citizenship?

• To what extent do you accept the claim of some French Muslims that the government was not applying an even-handed secularism but instead responding especially to them as Muslims?

Part II Questions

• Why is the headscarf such a contentious cloth?

• What arguments are offered in support of the headscarf?

• Are women who wear the headscarf oppressed?  Unenlightened?  What does the headscarf seem to mean to those who choose to wear it?

• How do you respond to the argument that the wearing of headscarves in the public sphere tends not to be merely a sign of private religious faith but as an aggressive political statement associated with the demand that the wall separating church and state be obliterated?

• Is a full-length niqab or burka gown appropriate in public settings such as a school?  Should the state have any authority to regulate religious dress codes at all?

• How has the controversy about the hijab played out in different countries?

• How would you compare and contrast French and Turkish state policy in regards to religion and the public sphere?  Who was Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and what does he have to do with the headscarf controversy in Turkey?

• Compare and contrast the way in which the headscarf controversy has played out in France with the examples of Britain and other European nations?

• How, if at all, does inclusion of headscarf stories from the Middle East change the terms of the debate?  How would you compare and contrast the role of Islam in Saudi Arabia with its role in Turkey?

Part II Resources