Unveiling the Truth: Why 32 Muslim Women Wear the Full-Face Veil In

AT HOME IN EUROPE Unveiling the Truth Why 32 Muslim Women Wear the Full-face Veil in France Unveiling the Truth Why 32 Muslim Women Wear the Full-face Veil in France At Home in Europe Project Copyright © 2011 Open Society Foundations. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this report or portions thereof in any form. Open Society Foundations 400 West 59th Street New York, NY 10019 USA www.soros.org Október 6 Street 12 H–1051 Budapest, Hungary 100 Cambridge Grove W6 0LE London, United Kingdom At Home in Europe Project Open Society Foundations Website www.soros.org/initiatives/home Cover design by Dennis Ahlgrim l Ahlgrim Design Group Cover photograph by Naima Bouteldja Layout by Judit Kovács l Createch Ltd. l Hungary Contents Foreword 5 Acknowledgements 7 Definitions 9 1. Key Findings 11 2. Introduction 19 3. Methodology 23 4. French Political Content and History of Legislation on the Full-face Veil 27 5. Wearing the Full-face Veil 35 6. Influences and/or Coercion 47 7. How the Women Respond to Insults and Abuse 65 8. The Question of Identity 71 9. Wearing the Full-face Veil Once the Law Is Implemented 73 10. Conclusion 75 Annex 77 3 Foreword Unveiling the Truth: Why 32 Women Wear the Full-face Veil in France examines an issue causing considerable debate and controversy throughout Europe: the relationship between religion and European identity or, more succinctly, Islam’s compatibility with European values. The report offers the views of 32 women across France who wear the full-face veil, their reasons for doing so, and their experiences in public before and after the debate over banning the veil. It is an attempt to distinguish the real-life experiences and perspectives of the women who wear the veil from the popular myths and misperceptions promulgated by the media and national figures. A central belief of the Open Society Foundations is that all people in an open society count equally and should enjoy equal opportunities. The Foundations work to mitigate discrimination, in particular harm done to minorities through discriminatory treatment, and to ensure that access to equal opportunities for all is an integral part of government social inclusion policies. The At Home in Europe project of the Open Society Foundations focuses on research and advocacy activities that examine the position of minority and marginalised groups in a changing Europe. Through its research and engagement with policymakers, civil society, and communities, the project explores issues involving the political, social, economic, and cultural participation of Muslims and other groups at the local, national, and European levels. Whether citizens or migrants, native born or newly arrived, Muslims are a growing and varied population that presents Europe with one of its greatest challenges: how to ensure equal opportunities and demonstrate its principles of religious plurality and liberal 5 values in an environment of rapidly expanding diversity. Europe is no longer—if it ever was—a mono-cultural and mono-faith continent: its emerging minority groups and their identities as Europeans are an essential part of the political agenda and discourse. Since 2009, the project has issued a series of reports, entitled “Muslims in EU cities”, that examine city and municipal policies in 11 European Union cities that have actively sought to understand their Muslim communities. The aim of the At Home in Europe research is to contribute to better informed policies and debate on diversity and equality in Europe. The At Home in Europe project builds upon the Open Society Foundations’ ear- lier work on minority protection, in particular the EU Monitoring and Advocacy Program reports on the situation of minorities, including Muslims, in France, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Previous and current studies make it clear that further research is needed. The limited data currently available on Europe’s Muslim and other minority groups limits the possibilities for creating nuanced, specific policies that address social integration and other relevant issues for minority groups in Europe. 6 FOREW ORD Acknowledgements This report has been prepared by the At Home in Europe project of the Open Society Foun- dations in cooperation with a number of individuals who invested their time and effort into this publication. We are deeply grateful to Naima Bouteldja who was the researcher and writer of this report. Since October 2010, she has worked with tireless dedication identifying and interviewing the women at the heart of this report and analysing and writing up their testimonies and experiences. Her continuous support and expertise has been invaluable. Fatima Ali transcribed the interviews in French and Robin Virgin reviewed drafts of the report and offered comments. Sincere thanks are offered to both. Thanks are offered to our colleagues at the Office of Communications in New York who have been extremely supportive in their editorial and communications capacity. Finally, this report would not have been possible without the 32 women who agreed to be interviewed across France, including in Paris, Marseille, Lyon, and the smaller towns of Avignon and Rennes. Their personal stories, told with determination and openness, offer a rarely seen view and insight into their daily lives and experiences. Their names in the report are pseudonyms in order to protect their privacy and safety. The At Home in Europe project bears sole responsibility for the content of this report, including any errors or misrepresentations. 7 Definitions Burqa/burkha, is a loose outer garment that covers the entire body, including the face and eyes. It has a mesh screen covering the eyes and is similar to the seetar/sitar; the purpose of both is to veil a woman’s entire body and face in public. Respondents in this report associated the burqa/burkha with Afghanistan and the seetar/sitar with the Middle East, particularly Saudi Arabia. Hijab is the Arabic word for curtain or cover. It is a piece of cloth worn by observant Muslim women to cover the hair, ears, and neck, leaving the face uncovered. Khimar/keemar is similar to the hijab but can also be a covering that starts from the head and stops at the waist. Jilbab/jelbab (sometimes know as an abaya) has the appearance of a long loose-fitting coat that covers the whole body except the face. Niqab is a veil that covers a woman’s hair and face, leaving only the eyes clearly visible. There are different ways of wearing the niqab but the great majority of the women interviewed for this report wear a black jilbab with a black niqab to cover their faces. One inter- viewee wore a long, loose outer coat with a hijab and a white niqab covering her face. Quran, also written as Koran and Qur’an, is the religious text of Islam. 9 Salafism is a form of Islam whose followers advocate a literal interpretation of the Quran. Wahabbism, which was developed by the 18th-century theologian Muhammad ibn Abd al Wahhab in current Saudi Arabia is one of the most well-known forms of Salafism. In the current context, followers of Salafism have been portrayed as anti-Western extremists. Seetar/sitar, a similar garment to the burqa/burkha, includes a niqab with a second tier screening the eyes with mesh. It covers the woman’s whole body and is usually black in colour. Sunna, also spelled sunnah, means “habit” or “practice” and refers to the sayings and prac- tices of the Prophet Muhammed. Reports and narrations about the sunna are known as the hadith. Touareg, or Tuareg are a nomadic people inhabiting the Saharan region of North Africa who speak a Berber language. Ummah is an Arabic word meaning “community” or “nation”. In the context of Islam, it refers to all Muslims in the world under the umbrella of the ummah or “community of believers”. 10 DE F INITIONS 1. Key Findings The aim of this report is to distinguish myths and misrepresentations surrounding women who wear the full-face veil from the actual experiences and testimonies of the women themselves. Unveiling the Truth reports on women’s backgrounds, their decisions to wear the veil, their daily experiences in public, and their views on legislation banning the face veil in France, which comes into effect on 11 April 2011. The study is based on the testimonies of 32 women who live in Paris and its environs (Région Île-de-France), Marseille, Lyon, Avignon, Rennes, and smaller provincial towns. These locations were chosen in an effort to draw a sample that represented a diverse cross- section of France from the north to the south, from the large urban areas to smaller villages, and from places with large established Muslim communities to ones with very few. Regard- less of the limited size of the sample, the individual experiences recorded in this report are important for a better understanding of why some Muslim women choose to wear the full-face veil—in France a subject of much public debate that, until now, has marginalised the voices of Muslim women who actually wear the veil. Ascertaining the number of women who wear the full-face veil in France is problem- atic. If one accepts an official estimate of 1,900 women, the report’s sample would represent 1.7 percent of the total. The official statistic, however, should be treated with some caution as the only two figures produced by government sources and circulated in the press range from less than 400 to fewer than 2,000.1 Given the highly contentious political nature of 1. The second figure includes women in French overseas territories (estimated at 300). But despite this, the disparity between the two figures remains substantial.

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