The veil in schools in England and France

Résumé du document

There was a general outcry in the Muslim world at the time of the announce of the law concerning the wearing of the veil in French schools. This law put an end to the controversy 'veil affair' in France but since, the same affair arose in different countries like England. The interest of such a comparison is to understand how two countries sharing the same Western values can react so differently on the matter of freedom of religion occurring at the same period. Even if the conclusion about the freedom of religion is the same, i.e. that it can be restricted; wearing a veil in England is not a problem whereas it created many controversies in France. To what extent England and France had legally and sociologically faced a similar question arised at the same period but with so different interpretations?

Extraits

[...] Bowen, Why the French don't like headscarves:Islam, the State and Public Space, Chap Princeton University Press. Association créée le 28 mai 2003 par publication au Journal officiel de la République française le 7 juin 2003 Sebastian Poulter, Muslim Headscarves in School: Contrasting Legal Approaches in England and France, Oxford UP p44. Ibid p69. http://www.allaboutreligion.org/cultural-pluralism-faq.htm Avis No 346893 du 27 Novembre 1989, Assemble générale plénière (1990) L'Actualité juridique. Conseil d'Etat, http://www.conseil- etat.fr/ce/missio/index_mi_cg03_01.shtml, accessed 15/03/09. Sebastian Poulter, Muslim Headscarves in School, Oxford UP p60. CE novembre 1992, Kherouaa. [...]

[...] In Leila Sahin v Turquie 2005,[22] Turquie, as a secular state, forbade the veil in schools. The European Court ruled that the infringement of the right of the claimant was: - “prescribed by the - “pursu[ing] one of the legitimate aims set out in the second paragraph of Article 9 of the Convention” - “proportionate” Therefore, the restriction of the freedom of religion has been “necessary in a democratic society”. B. The respect of the human rights The United Kingdom and France have both signed important treaties protecting human rights. [...]

[...] La documentation francaise, http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/dossiers/laicite/laicite- ecole.shtml, accesed 17/03/09. Sebastian Poulter, Muslim Headscarves in School, Oxford UP p 49. www.york.ac.uk/depts/poli/staff/SLMcreilheadscarves09.doc accessed 18/03/09. R (Begum) v. Headteacher and Governors of Denbigh High School [2006] UKHL 15 (HL). Williamson [2005] 2 A.C [17]. Nicholas Gibson, Faith in the courts: religious dress and human rights, Cambridge Law Journal 2007, CLJUK 657 I. Leila Sahin v Turquie ,(App no 44774/98) (2005) ECHR Art Constitution 1958, http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/html/constitution/constitution2.htm ‘Third report of France concerning the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966' http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/CCPR.C.76.Add.7.Fr?Opendocument accessed 12/03/09. [...]

[...] The Conseil d'Etat, as council for the Government,[11] said: . signs by which they intend to express their religious affiliation is not in itself incompatible with the principle of secularism ( [except if it] constitute[s] an act of pressure, provocation, proselytism or propaganda, would impair the dignity or freedom of the student or other members of the educational community, jeopardize their health or safety, disrupt the educational activities and the educational role of teachers, and disorderly in the establishment or operation of public service.[12] As Sebastian Poulter notices, the pragmatic rules were lead to local head of schools, and they started to regulate the dress code very restrictively.[13] That leads a school to be sued for the exclusion of three girls in Montfermeil. [...]

[...] Ivana Radacic, ‘Gender equality jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights', European Journal of International Law EJIL 2008, 841-857 Bernard Lewis, Roots of Muslim Rage', The Atlantic Monthly, Sept 1 John R. Bowen, Why the French don't like headscarves:Islam, the State and Public Space, Princeton University Press, Chap 1. Loi 2004-228 du 15 mars 2004 encadrant, en application du principe de laïcité, le port de signes ou de tenues manifestant une appartenance religieuse dans les écoles, collèges et lycées publics (JO du 17 mars 204). La Documentation francaise, http://www.ladocumentationfrancaise.fr/dossiers/immigration/definition.shtml . Sebastian Poulter, Muslim Headscarves in School: Contrasting Legal Approaches in England and France, Oxford University Press p44. Ibid p47. [...]