HVK Archives: Imam backs French ban on veils in schools
Imam backs French ban on veils in schools - The Hindu
Posted By Krishnakant Udavant (kkant@bom2.vsnl.net.in)
April 14, 1998
Title: Imam backs French ban on veils in schools
Author:
Publication: The Hindu
Date: April 14, 1998
Muslim girls living in France should respect the ban on wearing
the veil in French schools, Sunni Islam's highest authority has
ruled.
"It is (France's) right," the Imam of Cairo's AI-Azhar
University, Sheikh Mohammed Sayed Tantawi, told the French
Interior Minister, Mr. Jean Pierre Chevenement. "Muslims, who
have a duty to obey the laws of the countries where they live.
have a choice between compliance or leaving the country," Sheikh
Tantawi said,
The visiting French Minister had asked the Imam's advice on
Paris' treatment of its Muslim population of around four million.
"The advice I give to any Muslim is to respect the laws of the
State as long as they do not contravene the fundamentals of
religion," Sheikh Tantawi said.
He said the French Government had no right to ban Muslim women
>from wearing the veil in the street, a view backed by Mr.
Chevenement.
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