Clad in veil of bad faith

The government of France has begun quietly expelling students from its public schools who are defying a new law that bans conspicuous religious symbols and religious apparel. The law, an amendment to the French Code of Education, reflects an already acknowledged strong sense of secularism the French are known to have and has garnered much criticism for taking secularism to the point of encroaching on basic human values.\nTo further inflame the situation, the expelled have tended to be of only one religion. Although the ban on conspicuous religious symbols and apparel theoretically includes Jewish skull caps, Sikh turbans and large Christian crosses, the targets of the ban have overwhelmingly been Islamic girls wearing their religion's traditional headscarves (which explains the common reference to it in the media as "the headscarf ban").\nBut wait, there's more. We would argue it is bad enough that the French have decided to wade into the waters of persecuting children and students because of their religion, but the government has ulterior motives, it seems, and justify their unreal actions under the fashion of fears of terrorism. Many French citizens publicly fear that their nation, which, with nearly 5 million Muslims, has the largest Islamic population in Western Europe, is under threat from the potential of Islamic fundamentalism.\nOf course it seems like the perfect rallying cry for religious fundamentalism would be persecuting a specific religion through frivolous laws and bans, and in fact, French soldiers and journalists have been taken hostage with threats on their lives unless France lifts the law. \nGranted, France is a sovereign country, free to create its own laws, protect its own citizens and create its own way of life, but that certainly doesn't mean we can't express our severe disappointment and moral outrage at this ridiculous law.\nMost Americans hold the doctrine of separation of church and state as one of our key political values. The First Amendment prohibits Congress from establishing a religion, and many legal scholars also believe this restricts the government from favoring or punishing one faith or church over another. Our system certainly isn't perfect, and our record is not without its blemishes, but we make overtures to be as inclusive as possible. And when we aren't, groups and citizens within our country challenge the violations.\nWe recognize the rationality of public institutions seeking not to promote any religion through their conduct, but the French government has gone too far by suggesting a reasonable separation of church and state is undermined if students are allowed to wear religious symbols and clothing in public schools. \nIn the end, it may come down to a battle between French and European Union human rights laws which allow freedom of religion. If that turns out to be the case, we side with the EU -- hands down.