French President Jacques Chirac announced a plan that should catch even the liberal left off guard, and signal to absolute secularists in the United States just how far their cause can take a nation. Chirac wishes to bar Islamic head scarves, Jewish caps and Christian crosses from state schools starting this coming fall. Muslims can see that he’s going too far.
Despite protests from Muslims, Chirac on Wednesday called on the French parliament to pass a law banning people from wearing Islamic headscarves and other religious symbols in state schools before the new school year begins in September.
It’s outright exclusionism, and hardly what a separation of church and state intends. It’s Husseinism–the censure of religious segments of the population based solely on religious expression. During his rule, Saddam banned certain religious activities and even killed in the name of secularism. It’s wrong, and should not be tolerated in France or anywhere else.
Believe it or not, the United States is heading toward the French model. Hopefully, we’ll stop the silliness before we do something so drastic.