*Pillars: How Muslim Friends Led Me Closer to Jesus was published last week. We had a fantastic book launch event with Barbara Brown Taylor and Abdi Nor Iftin Thursday and you can catch the replay here.
If you have read Pillars, would you please go over to Amazon real quick and drop a review? Doesn’t need to be long or anything, just a quick note and a starred rating would be awesome! Those really help with visibility for books. The goal is generally 50 reviews in the first week, so Pillars has a long ways to go!
On to the topic for today…
Last week France voted to ban the hijab among women under 18-years old. It is being condemned as a “law against Islam” and comes on top of another firestorm that appeared to ban halal chicken being sold, but which did not in fact do so.
The hijab ban is not a law yet but this is what part of it says, “While debating the proposed legislation on March 30, senators approved an amendment to the bill calling for the “prohibition in the public space of any conspicuous religious sign by minors and of any dress or clothing which would signify inferiority of women over men”.
One question is: to whom does the hijab signify inferiority of women? Muslim women don’t seem to be saying that. Who gets to decide?
This also comes on top of recent concerns raised about a possible ban on homeschooling or any schooling outside the French school system, which would impact religious education across faith traditions.
France is not the USA, my passport nation, and is not Djibouti, my host nation, so discussions must take into consideration French culture, politics, history. However, we are a globally connected planet now, so these topics do have broader impact.
Why should people of all faiths be concerned about a hijab ban?
John MacArthur seems to think Christians should not care about religious freedom. Which he says, in fact, “sends people to hell” and is a form of “idolatry.” The article I linked to here does a good job refuting this concept and concludes,
“No, Rev. MacArthur, religious freedom does not, as you asserted, send people to hell. But the denial of religious freedom, along with other liberties and decencies, does contribute to hell on earth.”
This article provides a nuanced look at the reality that no, we don’t need religious freedom. But still, as members of a pluralist society, I would assert that we do need to care about all religious systems and the right of people to practice without causing harm.
**But if you read anything, read this article about why the headscarf is Islam’s gift to western democracy, written by an American Christian.
Kaemingk writes, “Islam's entrance into the public square represents a critical opportunity for the renewal of Western democracy. Healthy democracies actually require the public presence and public voice of religion— even religions that challenge their democratic foundations.”
He also digs into why the French are so against the headscarf and why he thinks it is important.
What do you think? Should the hijab be banned? Not banned? Restricted? Who gets to decide?
Does the new French law sound like an inverse of draconian Iranian laws that force the scarf on women?
Should Christians care about freedom of religion for everyone?
Hijabs in Public Life
I read an article recently about two Sikh holidays this month. One celebrates the life of Tegh Bahadur, the 9th guru of the Sikh tradition. He was jailed and eventually killed for trying to protect Hindus who were facing religious persecution. These two quotes from the article seem relevant to today's discussion: "You will not find another person who gave his life to protect another's faith. It was not even his own faith."(Bhupinder Singh). "It's easy to speak on my behalf or my family's behalf or my community's behalf, but it usually stops right there. For someone to take a stand for others against an oppressive regime... (is) revolutionary" (Bobby Singh as quoted in the Houston Chronicle).