by Alberto Galvi –
In view of the return to school, France will ban children from wearing the abaya, the loose, long robe worn by some Muslim women, in state schools. France, which has enforced a strict ban on religious signs in state schools since 19th-century laws removed any traditional Catholic influence from public education, has struggled to update guidelines to address a growing Muslim minority.
In 2004, a law banned the veil in schools and anything that allows students to flaunt their religious affiliation. This includes large crosses, Jewish kippahs and Islamic headscarves. The French government in 2010 approved a ban on wearing the full veil in public, infuriating members of the five million Muslim community.
The CFCM (French Council of the Muslim Faith), a national body that includes many Muslim associations, said clothing alone is not a religious sign.
The whole French political spectrum defends the secular state. Leftists support the liberal values of the Enlightenment, while far-right voters seek a bulwark against the growing role of Islam in French society.
