IAWM support Muslim Right to wear Headscarves in French Schools

national | rights, freedoms and repression | opinion/analysis Saturday January 17, 2004 13:57 by David

The Irish anti war movement has decided to throw its weight behind the defence of institutional religion and the right to "choose" whether or not to display religous symbols in French schools.

I think this is a very controversial decision. (decided by who?)

Muslim females do not have the right to choose whether or not to wear the headscarves as it is required by their religion. Many people, myself included, consider all kinds of institutional religions to be little more than a method of controlling people, that most people never really get to choose their religion, their beliefs are rarely allowed to be questioned, all religions are assumed to be beyond criticism in open discourse.
The decision of the french government to secularise their education system doesn't restrict the freedom of muslim Girls, it replaces one authority with another, but a ban on headscarves might allow the girls to develop identities individual to themselves and not just be seen as faceless members of the Islamic tradition.

I also wonder how Marxists could take such action to protect the power of religion, "the opiate of the masses" and how the "leadership" can take such a controversial stance without consulting its membership?