French leader calls for ban on religious headgear and symbols in all public places

Citing the need to combat Islamist extremism, Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s Front National, has called for the country's ban on religious symbols and garb in schools to be extended to all public places.

She advocates the broadening of an existing law, called "the headscarf ban", that prohibits conspicuous displays of religious symbols in public schools. The banned "symbols" include religious headgear such as the hijabs, niqabs, and burqas worn by large and increasing numbers of Muslim women, not just in France but everywhere in so-called "Christian" countries. Also banned in French schools are turbans and kippahs.

Mme Le Pen added that Jewish and Christian symbols would have to be included in the ban in the name of equality and the "national interest". "I know that every French person, including Jews, can understand that if we ask for this sacrifice from them [in the framework] of the battle against the advance of Islamic extremism, they will make this effort and understand it."

In 2013 the government of Québec proposed to enact a Charter of Québec Values, which would have had provisions similar to those now advocated by Marine Le Pen. See "Multiculti types horrified as Charter of Québec Values bans religious headgear", WWW 10/9/13. They were defeated (for other reasons) in the ensuing provincial election, so the Charter was never made law. However, in June 2015, the Liberal government introduced a revised version. See "Québec reintroduces legislation to ban wearing of niqab", WWW 11/6/15. Things move slowly in Canada, and hearings on the "religious neutrality bill" started just this week.

Walt finds it interesting that it's the French -- both in Europe and North America -- who are leading the fight against Islamic extremists and the Islamization of the West. What about us "anglos"? Are we so ashamed of our Western culture and Western values that we fight for the "rights" of those who want to destroy us? I can't figure it out.

Further reading: If you're still not sure about the difference between hijabs, niqabs and burqas, check out "Hijab, niqab, burqa -- what's the difference?", WWW 28/7/10 -- one of our most-read posts of all time.

Multiculti types horrified as Charter of Québec Values bans religious headgear

What's the difference between a hijab, a niqab and a burqa? If you're a woman working in any part of Québec's public sector, the answer is: none whatever. When you go to work, leave your religious headgear at home.

So says the Charter of Québec Values, introduced today by the separatist government of La Belle Province. Also verboten -- oops, défendu -- are yarmulkes, turbans and kirpans. The special underpants that religious Sikh men wear are OK, because they are not "overt religious symbols". By the same token, Christians can wear a small cross or crucifix, but not a large one. Small earrings and finger rings are OK too.

Ever since the gist of the proposed legislation leaked out earlier this summer, those who celebrate diversity and promote multiculturalism have been whining that the Charter is an attack on religious minorities, discriminatory, and (of course) racist. Their argument was helped by remarks made last week by Premier Pauline Marois, who said multicult was responsible for "bomb-throwing" in England, and that the wearing of the hijab/niqab/burqa by Muslim women is an act of submission.

Mme Marois kept quiet over the weekend, handing le micro over to one of her predecessors, Bernard Landry. Appearing on Global TV's West Block, M Landry said flatly -- in English -- that Québec is not a multicultural society, and doesn't want to be one! Multicult, he said, was imposed on Québec, which continues to reject the idea to this day.

“You [the rest of Canada] like multiculturalism, go on,” M Landry continued. “My prediction is that within some years you will regret that attitude, but it’s your problem.” Wow! The ghosts of Charles DeGaulle and Enoch Powell could be heard applauding.

Poor Len Canayen wants to explain something to all the champions of multiculturalism and human rights industry types. The Charter of Québec Values is not about promoting Christianity and/or putting down non-Christian minority religions. The politics of the Parti Québecois is and has always been secularist.

The PQ was born out of Québec's "Quiet Revolution" of the 1960s, which slammed the door hard on the values and teachings of Holy Mother Church, which had long dominated the Québec society. The PQ is by nature leftist and "rationalist", the antithesis of the conservative Union Nationale and Libéral parties it displaced. The values which its proposed Charter enshrines are not those of true liberalism -- such as freedom of religion -- but those of secular humanism, man-centred, not God-centred.

Religious Québecois should, according to the principles of the Faith, oppose the new Charter. But the religious -- Christians or otherwise -- may, sadly, be in the minority. The proposed legislation is a clear winner in public opinion polls, being supported by those who feel, like Bernard Landry, that the waves of immigrants coming into the province must be "managed" and made to accommodate themselves to mainstream Québec society, rather than the other way around.

That is the real intent of the Charter. It has huge support from Québecois of all parties because they think that they will no longer have to look at legions of people walking down the Main attired in veils, turbans and funny hats. And that may be right, but not because the Muslims, Sikhs and Jews will conform, but because they will head west to the city where multicult is king, namely Toronto. Kathleen Wynne's Liberal government is already planning to widen the 401.

Further reading: "Multiculturalism: a failed experiment?"

"'I told you this would happen!': Enoch Powell"

"Charles De Gaulle warns about Muslim immigration"

Karzai: No bombs in turbans, PLEASE!

Note from Ed.: Walt is still ROFL, so has left it to me to pass on the following report from Reuters.

Reaction today to recent news from Kabul, soon to be renamed Kablammo. Afghanistan's democratically-elected President, Hamid Karzai (half-brother of the late Wally) has asked the country's Muslim elders to use their religious influence to sway Islamist insurgents to stop hiding suicide bombs in their turbans.

In July, two separate turban bombings killed the mayor of the Kandahar (recently handed over by the Canadians to the Americans), and a senior cleric in the city. The question now is how to tell the turbans containing explosives from those containing only air and hot air, without being politically incorrect by, say, demanding that the ragtops be removed and searched.

One might think that there would be no objection to the removal and examination of turbans, but suicide bombers in Afghanistan and Pakistan have also used women's burqas to disguise themselves. If you follow the idea to its logical conclusion, burqas and veils etc should also be removed, and the Prophet definitely wouldn't approve of strip searches!

A spokesman for the Krazai guy said, "From our point of view, by misusing Islamic values [the insurgents] want to draw a bad picture of Islam for the people of the world."

Siyamak Herawi said Karzai asked the clerics to launch a campaign to convince insurgents not to use turbans and other religious attire to carry out suicide bombings, not to target mosques and to make them aware that suicide was un-Islamic. "Good Muslims should be killing infidels," the spokesman said, "not each other!"

A Taliban spokesman -- no "spokespersons" in the Muslim world -- retorted that the Islamist group had never hidden a bomb in a turban. While it did take credit for the killing of Kandahar mayor Ghulam Haidar, Zabihullah Mujahid said the bomb had not been hidden in a turban.
"If using a turban is an Islamic respectful and cultural issue," he asked, "then why did Karzai put it on the head of many foreign generals in the past years?"

Appeal from Walt: But seriously folks... If this trend continues, there is bound to be a shortage of turbans in Afghanistan and Pakistan in the very near future. Please do your part to help the poor people of those countries. Contribute to Walt's new campaign: Rags for the Middle East! Send your bandanas, handkerchiefs and other rags -- please wash first -- to the usual address.