"burqas are 'not welcome' in France"

Sarkozy says burqas are 'not welcome' in France

PARIS (AP) — President Nicolas Sarkozy lashed out Monday at the practice of wearing the Muslim burqa, insisting the full-body religious gown is a sign of the "debasement" of women and that it won't be welcome in France.

The French leader expressed support for a recent call by dozens of legislators to create a parliamentary commission to study a small but growing trend of wearing the full-body garment in France.

In the first presidential address in 136 years to a joint session of France's two houses of parliament, Sarkozy laid out his support for a ban even before the panel has been approved — braving critics who fear the issue is a marginal one and could stigmatize Muslims in France.

"In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity," Sarkozy said to extended applause in a speech at the Chateau of Versailles southwest of Paris.

"The burqa is not a religious sign, it's a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement — I want to say it solemnly," he said. "It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic."

In France, the terms "burqa" and "niqab" often are used interchangeably. The former refers to a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan with only a mesh screen over the eyes, whereas the latter is a full-body veil, often in black, with slits for the eyes.

. . . "

Movies Show Headcoverings

I just received this note:

I have just started watching an old disney movie - MoonSpinners - that you may like to see.
I think the whole plot is Hayley Mills visiting Greece - anyway, so far I have not seen one Greek woman without her headcovered.
and the ones some of the wedding guests wore were quite pretty.
anyway, I got it from Netflix.
I can't promise it will be any good - haven't watch that much - but it may be worth it just for the fashion.

I remember that movie - must see it again. If I remember, the story and acting are pretty enjoyable. Hayley Mills is always fun to watch, and here she's a young woman - if I remember right, she even wears a head scarf when going out.

Makes me think - I'm sure that there are other older movies, not period pieces made lately, but movies made in the 60's and before, that show women with their heads covered when going out, whether for fashion or because it was the thing to do to attend worship somewhere.

I've always liked Fiddler on the Roof. There's a Natalie Wood movie in which she dresses modestly and wears hats. Can anyone think of others? Would love to hear from you!

And thanks for the thought, Karen. :)

Femitas on Headcovering

Very plainly put, "Femitas" of blogspot blogs answers those who wonder and guess at why she, as a Christian woman, has decided to cover her head. Read: Headcovering

And now for something different

"The Top 10 Silliest Hats in England"

from alltopmovies.net and Ladies Day at the Royal Ascot race

See also the Ladies Day photos at the Telegraph.

"Faith and Practice"

"Faith and Practice : Head Covering"

Written from a Catholic point of view, with application to all, I think.

The blogger begins:

" ... a little about the tradition of women covering their heads in prayer, and men uncovering. . . . some texts that are written with more eloquence than I could hope to reproduce myself."

One of those texts he quotes does include a study of the passage in 1 Corinthians 11. He also discusses briefly the Catholic tradition of the leading men in service who cover during worship, but not for the entire service.

He writes:

"... covering the head is an external manifestation of an interior piety. It is not, and should never be, enforced from without, by men or by women, but rather it comes from within, from the Christian woman's own soul."

And later:

"If we assume then, from this most current of examples, that the normative fashion is for boys to cover their heads and girls to uncover them as a sign of social status and in conformity with prevailing worldly fashion, should we be surprised, then, that the church demands that we do the opposite in our worship? On entering the church building, we are coming into the presence of God, and the appropriate response to that divine presence is to relinquish our worldly social order in exchange for God's order, and scripture asks us to make this one concession for the Glory of God."

I so like that last line.

Comparing Reasons

Found in "Women in Islam Versus Women in the Judeo-Christian Tradition, part 06"
Part 16 - The Veil (which is about half way down on this page)

Excerpts follow:

". . .

Finally, let us shed some light on what is considered in the west as the greatest symbol of women’s oppression and servitude, the veil or the head cover. Is it true that there is no such thing as the veil in the Judaeo-Christian tradition? Let’s set the record straight.

"According to Rabbi Dr. Menachem M. Brayer (Professor of Biblical Literature at Yeshiva University) in his book ‘The Jewish woman in Rabbinic literature’, it was the custom of Jewish women to go out in public with a head covering which, sometimes, even covered the whole face leaving one eye free [22]. He quotes some famous ancient Rabbis saying,”It is not like the daughters of Israel to walk out with heads uncovered” and “Cursed be the man who lets the hair of his wife be seen….a woman who exposes her hair for self-adornment brings poverty.”

. . .

"The veil signified a woman’s self-respect and social status. Women of lower classes would often wear the veil to give the impression of a higher standing. The fact that the veil was the sign of nobility was the reason why prostitutes were not permitted to cover their hair in the old Jewish society. However, prostitutes often wore a special headscarf in order to look respectable. 79 Jewish women in Europe continued to wear veils until the nineteenth century when their lives became more intermingled with the surrounding secular culture. . . .

"What about the Christian tradition? It is well known that Catholic Nuns have been covering their heads for hundreds of years, but that is not all. St. Paul in the New Testament made some very interesting statements about the veil: . . . (I Corinthians 11:3-10).

"St. Paul’s rationale for veiling women is that the veil represents a sign of the authority of the man, who is the image and glory of God, over the woman who was created from and for man.

. . .

"From all the above evidence, it is obvious that Islam didn’t invent the head cover, but Islam endorsed it. The Quran urges the believing men and women to lower their gaze and guard their modesty and then urges the believing women to extend their head covers to cover the neck and the bosom . . . (24:30,31).

. . .

"Thus, the only purpose of the veil in Islam is protection. The Islamic veil, unlike the veil of the Christian tradition, is not a sign of man’s authority over woman nor is it a sign of woman’s subjection to man. The Islamic veil, unlike the veil in the Jewish tradition, is not a sign of luxury and distinction of some noble married women.The Islamic veil is only a sign of modesty with the sole purpose of protecting women, all women. The Islamic philosophy is that it is always better safe than sorry."

. . .

Other interesting comparisons and observations are made in this lengthy article, including an appeal to morality in the West. I have not read more of this series than some of the first part of this page, which compares the use of polygamy in Islam with the practices of Judeo-Christian tradition.

"questions for women wearing head coverings?"

Heads up: do you have questions for women wearing head coverings?
examiner.com

Welcome back to the Brooklyn Jewish Examiner page. I want to thank all of you who responded to last week’s articles – Parts I and II of “Headed in the Right Direction: the Head Covering as Marker of a Jewish Woman’s Identity.” While several of you were familiar with Jewish women’s head coverings, and/or with women following the practice, my sense was that overall, this is an area shrouded in mystery for most people; so I’m delighted if my articles were successful in – pardon the pun – uncovering any misconceptions.

All of the articles are linked here.

Posted using ShareThis

News and Notes about Headcoverings this week

Justice Department Files Religious Discrimination Lawsuit Against Essex County, New Jersey
U.S. Department of Justice
sunherald.com

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit today against Essex County, N.J., alleging that it discriminated against a Muslim corrections officer on the basis of her religion in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The suit alleges that the county refused to permit Yvette Beshier to wear a religiously mandated headscarf while working as a corrections officer. . . .

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The Archaeological Museum at Izmir (Smyrna)
Wednesday June 10, 2009
Beliefnet.com

. . . Here we see a remarkable bronze statue of the goddess Demeter. Notice the head covering. When a Roman or Greek person made a sacrifice or offering, they would cover their heads in the presence of the deity, which definitely has something to do with what is going on in 1 Cor. 11.

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christians and jews. Do you agree?
removejewwatch.com

. . . Why is it people have a problem with muslim women wearing hijabs a.k.a head coverings? From my investigation hebrew/jewish women and christian women were/are suppose to wear them as well. . . .

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Is Headcovering “false holiness?”
in clevsea.wordpress.com

The question:

We don’t have to cover our heads, we are free in Christ. Isn’t that false holiness to do that?

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Mobile food slingers will need protection
Council committee advances measure to get street cooks to use plastic gloves, hairnets
metro.us

Questions from a girl

"If the Bible says for women to cover and men not to (while they're praying and that) then why are they having this argument? shouldn't they just obey?

"I don't need an answer, I was just thinking.

"Oh, and who cares if it was a custom?"