To continue my rant on the French law banning conspicuous religious apparel in schools, let me quote the following AP story as published in today's StarTribune:
At the start of the week, there were 72 cases of students who risk expulsion for refusing to remove conspicuous religious signs or apparel - 17 in the Strasbourg area. Most are Muslim girls who wear Islamic head scarves. However, some Sikh school boys who refuse to remove turbans are among the 72.
And one paragraph later, we read:
. . .this week schools began convening hearings to decide difficult cases before the All Saints Day vacation period, which ends after the Nov. 1 Roman Catholic holiday.
Does anyone else think it a bit strange that France is going to these extreme lengths to curb religious expression in the schools, yet structures its school calendar around a Catholic holiday? How exactly does the scheduling of an All Saints Day vacation jibe with France's constitutionally guaranteed principle of secularism?
Posted by ldfs at October 20, 2004 2:47 PM | TrackBack