Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves

Western anthropologists are typically concerned with interpreting the non-western world’s unfamiliar cultures for western audiences. The French law banning the hijab from public schools presents itself as just as baffling as any non-western custom. Thus, it is fully understandable that it would tak...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:
Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Katherine Bullock
Formato: article
Lenguaje:EN
Publicado: International Institute of Islamic Thought 2008
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://doaj.org/article/b840dcb4411344049ac705a690b68e89
Etiquetas: Agregar Etiqueta
Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!
id oai:doaj.org-article:b840dcb4411344049ac705a690b68e89
record_format dspace
spelling oai:doaj.org-article:b840dcb4411344049ac705a690b68e892021-12-02T19:23:16ZWhy the French Don’t Like Headscarves10.35632/ajis.v25i1.14902690-37332690-3741https://doaj.org/article/b840dcb4411344049ac705a690b68e892008-01-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.ajis.org/index.php/ajiss/article/view/1490https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3733https://doaj.org/toc/2690-3741 Western anthropologists are typically concerned with interpreting the non-western world’s unfamiliar cultures for western audiences. The French law banning the hijab from public schools presents itself as just as baffling as any non-western custom. Thus, it is fully understandable that it would take anAmerican anthropologist to interpret this event, especially for those in Anglo-Saxon cultures, where in spite of Islamophobia and discrimination against the hijab, concepts of religious tolerance and multiculturalism have generally translated into legal protections for women and girls who wish to wear it in public spaces. So with a catchy title designed to appeal to thiswidespread bafflement, the author seeks to explain the intellectual underpinnings and political processes that led to this banning of “ostentatious” religious symbols in public schools on March 15, 2004. Bowen, whose earlier work looked at religion and social change in Indonesia, focuses on the public deliberations about the issue of the hijab as well as on wider issues related to Muslim integration in France. He interviews politicians, bureaucrats, academics, journalists, public intellectuals, Muslim leaders, Muslim women, and (importantly, since it was a missing dimension, as he points out, in the lead up to the law) Muslim high school girls. He studies public texts and focuses especially on the crucial role played by an often hysterical media in forming and firming up public opinion in support of the law ... Katherine BullockInternational Institute of Islamic ThoughtarticleIslamBP1-253ENAmerican Journal of Islam and Society, Vol 25, Iss 1 (2008)
institution DOAJ
collection DOAJ
language EN
topic Islam
BP1-253
spellingShingle Islam
BP1-253
Katherine Bullock
Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves
description Western anthropologists are typically concerned with interpreting the non-western world’s unfamiliar cultures for western audiences. The French law banning the hijab from public schools presents itself as just as baffling as any non-western custom. Thus, it is fully understandable that it would take anAmerican anthropologist to interpret this event, especially for those in Anglo-Saxon cultures, where in spite of Islamophobia and discrimination against the hijab, concepts of religious tolerance and multiculturalism have generally translated into legal protections for women and girls who wish to wear it in public spaces. So with a catchy title designed to appeal to thiswidespread bafflement, the author seeks to explain the intellectual underpinnings and political processes that led to this banning of “ostentatious” religious symbols in public schools on March 15, 2004. Bowen, whose earlier work looked at religion and social change in Indonesia, focuses on the public deliberations about the issue of the hijab as well as on wider issues related to Muslim integration in France. He interviews politicians, bureaucrats, academics, journalists, public intellectuals, Muslim leaders, Muslim women, and (importantly, since it was a missing dimension, as he points out, in the lead up to the law) Muslim high school girls. He studies public texts and focuses especially on the crucial role played by an often hysterical media in forming and firming up public opinion in support of the law ...
format article
author Katherine Bullock
author_facet Katherine Bullock
author_sort Katherine Bullock
title Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves
title_short Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves
title_full Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves
title_fullStr Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves
title_full_unstemmed Why the French Don’t Like Headscarves
title_sort why the french don’t like headscarves
publisher International Institute of Islamic Thought
publishDate 2008
url https://doaj.org/article/b840dcb4411344049ac705a690b68e89
work_keys_str_mv AT katherinebullock whythefrenchdontlikeheadscarves
_version_ 1718376638661525504