France Burqa Stance Elicits Al Qaeda Threat

Following an imbroglio in France in late June when President Nicolas Sarkozy declared the burqa to be unwelcome and against French values, al Qaeda is threatening retaliation. According to CNN, the extremist group has listed threats on extremist Islamic websites that include:

"We will not tolerate such provocations and injustices, and we will take our revenge from France ... by every means and wherever we can reach them ... Our Muslim brothers in France in particular and in Europe in general are increasingly troubled by the practices of the French politicians and their leaders, and their constant harassments of our people regarding the burqa issue"

The statement was signed by one Abu Musab Abdul Wadud who claims to be the "commander of al Qaeda in North Africa [Islamic Maghreb]." CNN notes that it is unable to authenticate the statement.

Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) was originally a militant Islamist movement against Algeria's secular government in the early 90s. It has since spread its geographic and political influence. According to the Council on Foreign Relations:

Terrorist activity in North Africa has been reinvigorated in the last few years by a local Algerian Islamist group turned pan-Maghreb jihadi organization: al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). A Sunni group that previously called itself the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), the organization has taken responsibility for a number of terrorist attacks in the region, declared its intention to attack Western targets, and sent a squad of jihadis to Iraq. Experts believe these actions suggest widening ambitions within the group's leadership, now pursuing a more global, sophisticated, and better-financed direction. Long categorized as part of a strictly domestic insurgency against Algeria's military government, AQIM claims to be the local franchise operation for al-Qaeda, a worrying development for a region that has been relatively peaceful since the bloody Algerian civil war of the 1990s drew to a close. European officials are taking AQIM's international threats seriously and are worried about the growing number of Europe-based cells, states this Europol Report (PDF).

CFR's full bio is here.

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Comments

[luziannagirl]

One more, one more thing, at the risk of pissing off the comment screeners:

Those who maintain there is scriptural support in the Quoran/Koran for burkas please remember that one of the same passages which talks about requirements for dress and behavior of women also appears to mention the presence of neutered male servants. A.k.a., eunochs. If they were horses, geldings. Cattle, steers.

Am I not right?

Does anybody not see that the power here, is ALL in the hands of the mortal male human interpeters of such holy texts, who freely admit castrating little boys and keeping them as lifetime slaves is barbaric and archaic, despite scriptural support, but think it's fine to use that same passage to continue to imprison for life women and girls under burkas?

[luziannagirl]

One more thing:

In the West, all adults of any gender are assumed to be responsible for themselves as individuals.

If a woman commits a crime, she and she alone is held accountable. Unless her husband, father, son, or brother, were somehow involved in commission of the crime, they are not held accountable.

Children are assumed to be under the control of the parents, and in some cases, parents can be held, at least in civil court, and in some criminal courts, to be responsible for their children's actions.

Hiding a woman's identity under a burka is a form of keeping her under control, as if she were a child.

It is anathema to democracy.

[db08]

I am sure that Native Americans wished that the Europeans had assimilate­d...learne­d their languages and cultural practices.

[Antonis]

Burqas, thongs, cowboy hats, strapless bras and all, all that is irrelevant. The rule of law must apply. In Saudie Arabia the law says one thing and it is applied in a partiicular way, in France, US, UK, Sweden, etc something else. Moving to any of those countries one needs to find out whether the laws are compatible with their own belief system and culture. The "get-in" now and change the law to accommodat­e-me-later is unethical. In Rome do like the Romans, otherwise after awhile it will not look, feel or even be Rome anymore and all this time has been wasted away from the "comfort" of their culture and lifestyle back home while trying to regenerate it from scratch elsewhere.
Europe with a liberal philosophy of politicall correctness and a vote-hunting mob of politicians, has now a problem in its hands. A one-testic­le-one-bre­ast politically correct solution however does not exist. Nature usually takes a stand and alas, unfortunately, history repeats itself..
Sarkozy has guts and dug his heels deep. Soon, other leaders will follow. Al Qaeda or not.
Even if they and their peope are branded racists xenophobics, islamophobics - or what ever other trendy names the UN sponsored rights groups and NGO's" have picked nowadays, they would have to apply the law to protect the fabric of their societies. (Jeesus, all that for a burqa, I surprised myself!), .
Vive la France, it is only a beginning.

[cavegal]

In the Koran the only mention of dress is directed at both sexes to merely dress modestly. Therefore there is no persecution of religion by the French in imposing a ban on the Burqa. The additional laws developed by different Muslim cultures, such as sharia law, revolve around governing their tribes.

It is only the Burqa that they are considering banning. All other forms of traditional Muslim coverings that leave the face visible are acceptable. If Muslim women in France that love wearing the Burqa feel that their religious rights are being infringed upon, then they have the choice of further imprisoning themselves by staying home.

[ModernTimes1]

"A Muslim dentist refused to treat patients unless they wore traditional Islamic dress, it was alleged today. Omer Butt, 32, ordered women to put on head scarves or he would not register them or their families at his NHS-funded clinic, it was claimed."
John Snell, for the GDC, said: 'He sought to impose a dress code on patients attending his practice."

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1178411/Muslim-dentist-refused-treat-female-patients-unless-wore-Islamic-dress.html

But what an appropriate name!!! LOL

[cavegal]

Great story, I hope they shut him down. Providing public health services and imposing your religious beliefs on your patients is just plain wrong.

[luziannagirl]

As long as he doesn't take any public tax money or use public assets, I see no problem with that. Let him either be totally financially on his own and essentially, limit his practice to fundamentalist Muslims, or perhaps, even be partially supported by Muslim religious organizations.

Only thing is, when any group so chooses to so thoroughly isolate themselves from the rest of the society in which they live and work, they run the risk of being seen in a negative light.

Word to the wise...

Of course, if the real goal of fundamentalist Muslims is to eventually take over the larger society and impose their restrictions on everyone (or else), then perhaps they are not very concerned with being seen by that larger society in a negative light.

[stephanemot]

they did the same 5 years ago for the headscarf...

once again testing a secular Republic that dares defy fundamentalism...

as a French citizen, I know that wearing a burqa in France more than anywhere else is first of all a clear political statement :
http://e-blogules.blogspot.com/2009/06/france-secularism-and-burqa-political.html

[gladiator777]

Ask for sharia law to be banned in the UK then also, if your against burqas then you are certainly against that...........

[gladiator777]

They allow sharia law in the UK, shouldn't you guys be protesting that too? But the labor party likes to get free votes by allowing women to be enslaved..­..........­...

[LeeCalif]

I used to feel that different countries and societies should not meddle and let it be done, but I've

changed my mind. I feel it is a sign of enslavement and subjugation of women and should not be

endorsed or allowed by different societies.

[blutigeroo]

Yes subjugation of women is bad but your argument is based on the incorrect notion that all women who chose to wear the burqa have been forced to do so. It is probably forceful in some cases, but in the majority of cases it is worn by choice.

[ModernTimes1]

ALL women who wear burqas are enslaved, either directly by men in their lives or directly by religious dogma they're brainwashed with.

[luziannagirl]

Hmmm. By choice, aye?

Would those choices go something like "wear the burka or be known as an unclean, ungovernable, and un-marriageable woman?"

Be banished from the family? the town? country?

Be divorced from the husband, cut off from the children, and be left destitute?

Be put in jail by Sharia police? Tortured? Stoned? Executed? (Oh, yeah, I forgot, one doesn't usually survive stoning---excuse the redundance)

What are the other choices for a woman in a burka-wearing society, blutigeroo?

[faith]

France has every right to refuse foreign women to wear burqas in France. You cannot tell if it is a man or woman underneath the garb. You cannot tell if they have weapons, AK-47s or worse. This is a HUGE SECURITY issue ! Good for France. If Muslim women want to wear them then they can pack their things and return to their homeland where it is acceptable.

[blutigeroo]

Instead of just outlawing the burqa alone then shouldn't all clothing that could be used to hide any sort of weapon be banned?
You explicitly mention foreign women, so does that mean your okay with French women choosing to wear it? Or are you automatically assuming that any woman who wears it is an immigrant?

[luziannagirl]

I do believe that all clothing which covers the face is banned ---sometimes even on holidays where masking is traditional---in many Western countries, bluetigeroo. Security issue.

Of course, I'm sure security isn't nearly as much a problem in societies which strictly control every move---even those most intimate and personal--- at least half the population makes.

Perhaps that's the real motive behind those pushing Western countries to allow public burka-wearing?

Perhaps in future, even we non-Muslims will not have the freedom to walk into the corner grocery store dressed in jeans and a T-shirt because it's too revealing and therefore tempting to otherwise civilized, law-abiding men?

[cookiejar422]

photo

I would like to know how the gay community feels about this discrimination?

[LeeCalif]

Wish I had a cookie.

[fcsakes]

When I was a little girl I was told, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Pretty good advice for every country I think.

If you don't like it, go home.

[blutigeroo]

Some Muslims are also French and classify France as their home.

[ModernTimes1]

Many consider themselves French only as far as their social benefits can carry them.

BBC report from Paris.
During soccer game introduction between France and Tunisia "France's national anthem was booed." "There have been similar problems in recent years in matches against Algeria and Morocco."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/africa/7671299.stm

[Saidas]

Same thing applies. If they classify themselves as French, then they should abide by French laws. If they don't like the laws change them (killing doesn't count) or move to a country that allows it. Ah, but you don't like those other countries as much! Life is nothing if not trade offs.

[JNarragansett]

In case my other comment doesn't get published this can stand on its own. I hear a number of people complaining that the burqa is a "tool of male oppression" and "no woman would ever wear one by choice." This ignores articles written on this site by women who profess to wear the burqa by choice and to me sounds like someone saying "I can't understand it so it can't be true." I understand that many people probably have never even met a woman in a burqa so I will use something more familiar as an analogy. I have heard women proclaim that the bra is a shackle of male oppression designed to shape the body into something more appealing to men and that they couldn't understand why any woman would want to be bound by such an oppressive garment. How would women feel if they were told that having support or modesty while going for a run was just silly antiquated notion in our modern society and we should ban the bra to make their lives better? Take a minute to try and understand another culture.

[faith]

JNarragansett are you located in So. Cal? If so, then, my friend I am very proud of your writing and analogy.

[Saidas]

I disagree. Poor analogy.

[thundermummy]

"Take a minute to try and understand another culture."

I don't take issue with what you posted but apply the above quote to France as a whole as opposed to just Muslims. France is a culturally secular nation and proudly so. There are other laws in France that prohibit crucifixes, yarmulkes , and head scarves in schools. If French values are against outwardly religious markers then why should they abandon those values?

[blutigeroo]

Finally, someone who can provide a logical argument instead of the usual mindless banter

[JNarragansett]

I'm well aware of France's secular identity, but I have not heard Sarkozy making that argument in favor of banning the burqa. He also is not talking about banning outwardly religious markers from any other religion, just the burqa. I'm also well aware of the French culture when it comes to xenophobia and the division between the "arabs" and "french" and I worry that this is the motivation for the ban. I'm not asking the French to abandon their secular values, simply to refrain from imposing religious restrictions upon individuals in a society that is supposed to be free and open. Finally, even if you are unpersuaded by my arguments concerning individual liberty, how about one that says that this will not solve any gender equality issues but merely hide what they think of as an embarrassing garment. What do you think will happen to the women that are forced to wear a burqa by their husbands? I highly doubt that the male domination will disappear with the article of clothing.

[luziannagirl]

JNarragansett

There's no law forcing women to wear bras at least in the U.S. In fact, it was quite fashionable to go bra-less in the 70's and 80's. I didn't routinely wear a bra until after I had children, when it became uncomfortable to go bra-less during the day.

Anyhow, your analogy is flawed. A better one would be that there are laws requiring women to cover their breasts in all public places, but in some places, it's o.k. for men to go bare-chested.

(I know, I know, I'm making his point for him, but aren't we all used to that by now...)

[JNarragansett]

You did pretty much make my point for me, but I don't really understand the comment about the law forcing women to wear a bra as there isn't a law in France that requires anyone to wear a burqa.

I know that my analogy wasn't exactly apt, but I really just wanted to get people thinking about what it would be like to have the government ban an article of clothing. I had also thought of bringing up the ridiculous attempts to ban saggy pants in the US but those seem to be based in theory as an necessary step to preserve modesty.

[Antonis]

Considering the number of different cultures that come in to a specific place, some by choice and some not, wouldn't it be easier to try and understand the host instead? Respect goes both ways, and especially when they open their arms to you, Bras, thongs, cowboy hats and all!
Vive La France

[JNarragansett]

I'm sure that there are women that are forced to wear the burqa, but I am equally certain that there are women that wear one by choice. If you look around this site you'll find one that wrote an article about it. I wanted to respond to a few of the standard arguments I have heard on these comment threads. 1. "Saudi Arabia forces women to cover their hair/dress a certain way so France can do it too." I was always taught that two wrongs do not make a right, and I would hope that a country founded on liberté, égalité and fraternité wouldn't look to Wahhabism for guidance on individual liberty. 2. "If you don't like it, go home/away." First, some Muslims are actually born in France, and second, with the immigration policies in modern countries where can someone go that will allow them both the freedom to dress as modestly as they want and access to modern society? If we don't fight for individual liberty in the places where people run to escape oppression, eventually there will be no escape from oppression. 3. "They will blow us up if we allow them to wear this." Apart from the stereotype that all Muslims are terrorists, fear tactics should be ignored by those who use logic. Scare tactics are used to curtail civil liberties and has left us with warantless wiretapping and guantanamo bay.