July 7, 2009      No. 533

   Reformist Iranian-French Writer Chahdortt Djavann: The Hijab, a Political Weapon and Form of Sexual Abuse, Should Be Outlawed
   By: N. Maruani *

Introduction

The debate on the veil in France recently flared up again, after French Secretary of State for Urban Policies Fadela Amara said that the burqa and niqab should be banned in public places, and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in parliament that the burqa was "not welcome in France." [1] In this debate, French media outlets have frequently cited the writings of Chahdortt Djavann.

An Iranian-born French writer, Djavann is the author of two influential books, Bas les Voiles (Veils Off) [2] and Que Pense Allah de l'Europe (What Does Allah Think of Europe?), [3] both of which deal with the meaning and implications of the veil as a political tool. [4] Veils Off in particular had a strong impact on the veil debate in France, including on the discussions that took place in the French parliament prior to the passing of the 2004 law banning "conspicuous religious signs in schools." [5] Djavann testified before the Stasi Commission, formed in 2003 by then-president Jacques Chirac to investigate the issue of preserving secularism in the French Republic and to prepare the ground for passing a law on the veil. [6] During the hearing, she clashed with French sociologist Alain Touraine, who claimed that Iranian women were happy with wearing the veil.

Prominent political figures wrote her to express support for her views, including former prime minister Laurent Fabius, as well as Chirac himself, who wrote that Veils Off would have a positive impact on the difficult debate over secularism.

The following is a review of Djavann's writings on the issue of the veil, based on her books Bas les Voiles and Que Pense Allah de l'Europe?, and on several interviews with her.

The Veil as a Political Weapon

Que Pense Allah de l'Europe first presents the views of the proponents of the veil, such as Muslim women who say, "The veil represents my religion, my culture and my identity. It is a sign of modesty, of self-respect, of submission to God. It is a religious duty written in the Koran... [I wear it] out of my own free will..." Also presented are the opinions of European intellectuals who defend the veil on the basis of "the right to be different" and "religious freedom," and who ask, for example, "If body-piercing and displaying one's navel is allowed, how can the veil be banned?"

In response to this argument, Djavann points out that no regime has ever forced women to go about with their navels showing, whereas the veil is imposed upon several hundred million women around the world. She writes that the veil cannot be presented as a personal choice, disregarding centuries of Islamic history. She adds that it is inappropriate to probe the motivations of every young girl wearing the veil when what is at stake is a political agenda.

Djavann explains further: "The veil has never been innocent or innocuous. It has always signified the submission of women to men and the denial of legal rights to women in Islamic countries." She stresses that the Islamists did not invent the veil, but have turned it into a weapon and made of it the symbol of their cause.

Addressing the growing phenomenon of veiled women in European Muslim communities, Djavann points out its centrality to the Islamist propaganda: "The political, ideological, and psychological impact of the veil goes far beyond its appearance… If this weren't the case, why would the Islamists make it their main focus? [7]... It constitutes a constant call to order by Islamic law."

"The Spread of the Veil in Europe is a Very Clear Indicator of the Spread of Islamism": "Iran Has Imposed the Veil on All Women, Including Christian and Jewish Women"

The veil, Djavann argues, reflects a refusal to integrate, and its spread in Europe is a very clear indicator of the spread of Islamism. Therefore, intellectuals who defend it, in an attempt to be understanding and compassionate, are in fact promoting Islamism: "The French intellectuals who oppose the banning of the veil in secular schools must understand that they are supporting Islamic dictatorships," she writes.

Djavann stresses that Islam can exist without the veil, but the Islamist system cannot, because "the veil is the symbol, the flag and the keystone of the Islamic system." As an example, she presents Iran, which "has imposed the veil on all women, including Christian and Jewish women, and has deployed its paramilitary forces to enforce the wearing of the veil throughout Iran."

As for those young girls who insist on wearing the veil in France, she says that "they encourage oppression against all the women in Muslim countries who strive to escape the totalitarian hold of the hijab, and [even] risk their lives to do so."

Djavann notes that "even in Muslim countries, making minors wear the veil is considered extremist. In its previous history, France knew how to limit the influence of Catholic rules. Why shouldn't it do the same with Islamic rules? [12]

The Veil Damages Self Image, Social Life - For Both Women and Men

Djavann adds: "If you are a woman [in Islamist societies], you dare not go out on your own or have a cup of coffee at a bar. Relations between men and women are reduced to… sexuality… In Iran, in universities, circulars forbid girls and boys from greeting each other… Can you imagine what humiliation this is?" [13]

Recalling the decade she spent wearing a veil in Iran, she says that much of the problem comes from the fact that the honor of Muslim men depends upon the female body: "I felt humiliation at being a woman… A girl is considered [a source of] shame and danger. Think about it: she may harm a man's honor! I would like someone to tell me why a man feels defiled if a woman violates modesty regulations. Why does the honor of Muslim men depend on the bodies of Muslim women? They should be responsible for their own honor!" [14]

Men also bear the consequences of this dependency, Djavann asserts: "This kind of relationship is more damaging to men than to women… The man bases his existence on his relationship to the female sex… He is a man because he is able to guarantee the decency and the good behavior of the female body within his family; he is a man because he owns the female body - his mother's, his sister's, his wife's, his daughters'…" In other words, "the more a woman is ashamed and modest, the more her father, brothers and husband are honored…"

Djavann also points out that the debate on the veil issue should not conceal other problems: economic inequality, lodging, education. Political leaders should not evade their responsibilities and abandon immigrants to their predicament, dooming them to ghettoes cut off from French society.

* N. Maruani is a Research Fellow at MEMRI.

[1] Sarkozy declared in a parliamentary address on June 22, 2009, that the burqa, which covers women from head to toe, is "not welcome" in France, evoking strong criticism from French Muslim leaders.

[2] Bas les Voiles, Gallimard, 2003.

[3] Que Pense Allah de l'Europe?, Gallimard, 2004.

[4] In 2006, Djavann published "Comment Peut-On Etre Français?" ("How to Be French," Flammarion, 2006), a philosophical essay addressed to 18th century French author Montesquieu, who wrote the famous satirical work Persian Letters (Lettres persanes).

[5] This law bans the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols in French public primary and secondary schools.

[6] L'Express (France), October 30, 2003, http://www.lexpress.fr/info/societe/dossier/foulard/dossier.asp?ida=409994.

This 20-member committee, headed by then French ombudsman Bernard Stasi, dealt with the issue of preserving "the neutrality of public services" and promoting "cohesion and brotherhood among [French] citizens" while respecting "pluralism, religious freedom and freedom of speech, gender equality and women's dignity." Modeled on the 1987 committee on the "code of nationality," it held consultions with political parties, religious authorities and representatives of civil society.

[7] "Dévoilez Chahdortt," an interview by Isabelle Robineau in the French literary monthly Topo, http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:IITZshokpqwJ:www.chapitre.com/accueil.asp%3.

[8] Tariq Ramadan advocated separate hours for men and women in swimming pools, saying: "Today swimming pools here… are not Islamic… You cannot go there because your eyes are set on things that you should not see…" See video on website of French intellectual, writer, and activist Caroline Fourest: http://carolinefourest.wordpress.com/2008/05/11/tariq-ramadan-contre-les-piscines-mixtes/ or on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAuLhit-BHA.

[9] "Devoilez Chahdortt," an interview by Isabelle Robineau in the French literary monthly Topo, http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:IITZshokpqwJ:www.chapitre.com/accueil.asp%3.

[10] See also "Une pudeur pornographique" ("A pornographic modesty"), published in the Communist daily l'Humanité, December 19, 2003, http://www.humanite.fr/popup_print.php3?id_article=384774.

[11] Interview by Victor Dixmier, www.leparisien.com, October 17, 2003.

[12] Interview with Chahdortt Djavann published by online French daily on Middle East affairs www.proche-orient.info, October 24, 2003.

[13] "Devoilez Chahdortt", an interview by Isabelle Robineau in the French literary monthly Topo, http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache:IITZshokpqwJ:www.chapitre.com/accueil.asp%3.

[14] Interview by Ilana Moryoussef, in the online Middle East affairs daily www.proche-orient.info, October 24, 2003.

http://www.memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA53309

uhuh - tell that to all the rabid islamics the world over, my deceitful ideological freak.

Unbelievable but true....

Headdress and sandals disguise for PO robber
Published Date: 16 July 2009
By Polly Rippon
A ROBBER dressed in a woman's Islamic headdress and open-toed sandals stole cash from a post office in Sheffield.
The weapon-wielding raider threatened the sub-postmaster at Tinsley Post Office and forced him to hand over money before running off on Sheffield Road.

Post Office Ltd are offering up to £5,000 for information leading to a successful prosecution. ADVERTISEMENT
Police said the male suspect, who was Asian, burst into the shop at 5.30pm on Tuesday.

He was slim, 5ft 9ins tall and wore dark glasses, a knee-length, dark hijab and a dress with a light pattern. He carried a Burberry-style rucksack.

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/Headdress-and-sandals-disguise-for.5464900.jp




I wonder how long before garden variety robbers twig onto the benefits of multiculturalism for their industry - the usefulness of Muslim get-up for committing a crime. Can't wear a bike helmet into a bank but who will stop the blamless ethnic-minotrity ladies?
ANd what will the imams says when the infidels disguise themselves as fidels to commit crimes.

abu_rashid wrote on Jul 10^th, 2009 at 10:29pm:




The hijab worn among women, within moslem communities, is a symbol of their oppression, and a symbol of their implied consent, to their own subjugation [enslavement] to the demands of moslem males, within the moslem community.

Those women who dare, to not wear the hijab around moslem men, are always insulted, and frequently viciously assaulted, to 'put them in their place'.

Google,
muslims acid thrown in face uncovered
http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&q=muslims+acid+thrown+in+face+uncovered&bt...





As Calanen already astutely remarked elsewhere....

Quote:

"french cowards"
http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1246017314/12#12




The wearing of the hijab by moslem women, within moslem communities, has today become a Pavlovian 'response', after generations of violence and intimidation, visited upon all women within moslem communities, for any rebellion against the demands and dictates relating to their custom of dress, from their male counterparts.

The wearing of the hijab by moslem women, within moslem communities, has today become a Pavlovian 'response'....


"The veil is Womens Liberation"
"Arrest Jack Straw for Inciting Religious Hatred"
"Jack Straw Judeo-Christian Terrorist"
"Jack Straw Oppressor of Muslim Women"

Check out www.ishr.org, especially the "what can you do?" section"
http://ishr.org/index.php?id=761

abu_rashid wrote on Jul 10^th, 2009 at 10:29pm:


Yes, next:

Moral policing: mind your mannequins, Gazans told
Reuters/Gaza
Men cannot go topless on Gaza beaches, owners of clothes shops are told to remove mannequins displaying lingerie and some couples complain of being asked for marriage papers as they walk in the streets.
Human Rights groups and critics say some in the Islamist Hamas group, which rules Gaza, are exerting pressure to impose Islamic law on the public at a time when others seek to engage with the Western world.
Hamas, which wrested control of the Gaza Strip from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah faction in fighting in 2007, denies plans to impose Islamic laws.
But Gazans say bearded men who identify themselves with the ministry of religious affairs are advising people to follow Islamic values, stop smoking and stick to conservative forms of Muslim dress for men and women.
“People from the Virtue Campaign of the religious affairs ministry came and said mannequins were a provocative source of temptation,” said clothing-store owner Saoud al-Rayes.

“They said if we did not remove the mannequins which display underwear, they would confiscate them,” (and play doctors and temptations behind the bike shed) Rayes said.
The Hamas-run government denies any bid to impose Islamic law, but a recent decision by the Hamas-appointed chief justice ordering women lawyers to cover their hair has revived fears.
Ahmed Abu Khaled said three young men had approached him recently as he went for a swim without a T-shirt on Gaza beach.
They told him that was wrong and urged him to stick to Islamic and moral values. “They were polite but I did not think I could argue,” he said.
Taleb Abu Shaar, the minister of religious affairs, said the campaign of his ministry was “cultural and educational”, to spread public awareness but not to force people to do things.
“The campaign is in line with our religion and traditions. We see some dangers threatening youth and some wrongdoings, and our role is advise and to warn our people against bad things,” Abu Shaar said.
“Some people exaggerate the campaign in order to accuse the government to stir fears in society. We do not force people to do what they dislike,” he said.
Human Rights groups expressed concern over decisions made by some Hamas ministers, of which some were later eased, such as checking men walking with women.
Khalil Abu Shammala, director of Ad-Dameer Association for Human Rights, got complaints from people who had been stopped by policemen requesting identity and marriage papers to prove their relationship with opposite sex companions.
“The decision was cancelled after some Hamas leaders noted that its implementation angered the public,” he said.
“There were figures in Hamas calling for imposing Islamic laws ... while others felt it was not the right time,” Abu Shammala said.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya has recently told worshippers at a mosque that Hamas would not let anyone take the law into their own hands.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=307048&version...

I can hear Abu Rashid already: "Nothing to do with Islam Next." Of course, nobody believes him.

Non-Muslims flogged by Muslims for wearing trousers. And these barbarians expect us to treat them as equals? ANd they cry victimhood and islamophobia if we notice their barbarity?

Colonisation ended too soon. But the white man's burden has not eased.