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Jewish lawyer fights France`s ban on Muslim veil
Paris, Feb 03: A Jewish lawyer, fighting France`s plans to ban religious symbols from state schools, is appealing a decision to bar his Muslim daughters for wearing headscarves.
Paris, Feb 03: A Jewish lawyer, fighting France's plans to ban religious symbols from state schools, is appealing a decision to bar his Muslim daughters for wearing headscarves.
Laurent Levy, who describes himself as an atheist, said yesterday he would fight a decision by his local school district to ban his daughters Lila, 19, and Alma, 16, from their high school in the suburb of Aubervilliers north of Paris.
The teenagers became interested in Islam recently and began covering their heads of their own free will. Their mother is a non-practising Muslim of Algerian origin.
The local authority last week confirmed its decision to ban the girls, saying that wearing overt religious symbols in school was an act of provocation and propaganda liable to disrupt the functioning of the school.
The French cabinet last week approved a draft law that would bar Muslim headscarves, Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses from school. The law will be submitted to the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, today.
Levy, a left-wing lawyer who has worked for anti-racist group MRAP, said the law would exacerbate the sense of alienation felt by many children of immigrants, which has been blamed for a rise in anti-Semitism in France.
Although the law covers a variety of symbols, it was clear its main purpose was to ban the Muslim headscarf, he said. Levy has two months to file his appeal and, in the meantime, his daughters are being schooled at home.
Bureau Report
The teenagers became interested in Islam recently and began covering their heads of their own free will. Their mother is a non-practising Muslim of Algerian origin.
The local authority last week confirmed its decision to ban the girls, saying that wearing overt religious symbols in school was an act of provocation and propaganda liable to disrupt the functioning of the school.
The French cabinet last week approved a draft law that would bar Muslim headscarves, Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses from school. The law will be submitted to the National Assembly, the lower house of parliament, today.
Levy, a left-wing lawyer who has worked for anti-racist group MRAP, said the law would exacerbate the sense of alienation felt by many children of immigrants, which has been blamed for a rise in anti-Semitism in France.
Although the law covers a variety of symbols, it was clear its main purpose was to ban the Muslim headscarf, he said. Levy has two months to file his appeal and, in the meantime, his daughters are being schooled at home.
Bureau Report