海角大神

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2023
September
14
Thursday

Monitor Daily Podcast

September 14, 2023
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Husna Haq
Home Forum editor

With a mix of trepidation and excitement, millions of students in the United States and beyond returned to school this month. For 67 girls in France, la rentr茅e ended in dismay as they were turned away from school for wearing the abaya, a long, loose dress worn by some Muslim women.聽

The French government had announced a聽 in school, arguing they violate 濒补茂肠颈迟茅, a strict interpretation of secularism. 鈥淪chools must ... be protected from religious proselytism, from any embryo of communitarianism,鈥� French Education Minister Gabriel Attal .

The abaya is the latest in a series of bans in France: a hijab ban in state schools in 2004; a niqab, or face veil, ban in all public spaces in 2010; a burkini, or full-coverage swimsuit, ban in 2016 that was later overturned; and a ban on hijab in sports competitions in 2022.聽

The bans are part of a broader effort to remove all religious symbols, including Catholic crosses and Jewish kippas, from public schools. 尝补茂肠颈迟茅 arose more than a century ago from a desire to curb the influence of the Roman Catholic Church on public education.

French President Emmanuel Macron has said the country will be 鈥渦ncompromising鈥� in upholding the ban. But the trend has made France鈥檚 sizable Muslim community feel targeted.聽

The bans clash with the Muslim concept of haya, which encompasses decency, modesty, and self-respect. The principle applies to both men and women, prescribes modest dress, and includes one鈥檚 comportment, interactions, and more.聽

The bans also make accessing education more challenging for girls, who have struggled for that access across continents and centuries.

And for many Muslims in France, who are from former French colonies in North Africa, the bans speak to a neocolonial mindset. Muslims must literally shed their identities and conform to a European standard of dress and appearance.

As France鈥檚 Muslim population grows, the question becomes more urgent: Can the nation maintain secular traditions while also respecting the traditions and values of its diverse communities?

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Today’s stories

And why we wrote them

Why a Detroit labor dispute runs through the South

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Labor unions have been winning big pay gains this year. In the auto industry, nonunion factories in the U.S. South and the rise of electric vehicles have complicated the situation.

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A Palestinian family that fled fighting in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp is registered at a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, in the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Sept. 12, 2023. UNRWA said hundreds of families displaced from the camp have taken shelter in nearby mosques, schools, and the Sidon municipality building.

At oldest Palestinian camp in Lebanon, violence adds to burdens

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An eruption of violence has brought into sharp focus the oft-forgotten plight of Lebanon鈥檚 Palestinians, who for decades have lived in crowded camps amid chronic poverty and limited services. Yet individuals strive to maintain dignity and hope.

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Patterns

Tracing global connections
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Thirty years ago, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (left) and Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Yasser Arafat (right) signed the Oslo peace accord, which later fizzled. New Mideast peace talks will face similar difficulties.

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The broad terms of a Mideast peace deal have been clear for 30 years. But do today鈥檚 Palestinian and Israeli leaders have the courage to persuade their peoples to compromise?

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People inspect damaged areas in the aftermath of the floods in Derna, Libya, Sept. 14, 2023.

Floods, fires: North Africa鈥檚 climate and governance crises

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In North Africa, governments鈥� inability 鈥� or unwillingness 鈥� to respond to natural disasters is deteriorating trust and leaving communities vulnerable to extreme weather events.

By Taylor Luck , reporting from Amman, Jordan; and Maloula, Tunisia
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Difference-maker
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Christina Edwards practices drumming at The Record Co., a nonprofit rehearsal and recording studio, Aug. 24, 2023, for a wedding performance with a live band.

At The Record Co., music belongs to everyone

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Music has the power to transform lives. A recording studio in Boston works to make sure that everyone knows that their creativity and voice matter.

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The Monitor's View
AP
Two women walk down stairs at Galata bridge as the sun sets behind Suleymaniye mosque, right, in Istanbul, Turkey, Sept. 13.

The call of history in a Turkish court

( 2 min. read )

In a speech on Wednesday, the chief executive of the European Union said that 鈥渢he call of history鈥� 鈥� meaning the need to stop Russia from taking land from its neighbors 鈥� requires adding more countries to the 27-member bloc.

鈥淚t is clearly in Europe鈥檚 strategic and security interests to complete our Union,鈥澛爏aid Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission.

Her timing was perfect. On the same day, a court in Turkey 鈥� a NATO ally that has tried for decades to join the EU 鈥� took a step toward meeting one criterion for membership: protecting the freedom of association and freedom of expression. The court rejected an attempt by the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an to shut down a prominent women鈥檚 rights group that has been trying to end violence against women.

Prosecutors had made a vague charge against the group, called We Will Stop Femicide Platform, saying that the group is 鈥渁gainst the law and morality.鈥� The group鈥檚 secretary-general, Fidan Ataselim, told Agence France-Presse that the court ruling 鈥渙ffers society a spark of hope about putting trust in the justice system.鈥�

Those sparks of hope could be increasing. The EU and Turkey have stepped up their negotiations since May when President Erdo臒an was reelected. With his political survival intact, he may be ready to challenge Turkey鈥檚 Islamic conservatives, who want him to keep rolling back protections for women. In 2021, Turkey withdrew from a European convention aimed at combating violence against women.

鈥淎t a time when the enlargement policy is back on the EU agenda due to geopolitical concerns, excluding Turkey from this process would be a great strategic mistake,鈥� said Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

The EU insists that any aspirant for membership, such as Turkey or Ukraine, still meet the bloc鈥檚 high standards. 鈥淥ur future is a Union of freedom, rights and values for all,鈥� said the European Commission president. 鈥淲e will be very strong on the rule of law.鈥�

Turkey in particular must show real progress on its 鈥渄emocracy and the rule of law,鈥� said Oliv茅r V谩rhelyi, EU commissioner for enlargement.

While violence against women in Turkey has risen, the country has made some progress on women鈥檚 rights. The May elections saw the highest number of聽women聽elected to parliament in聽Turkey鈥檚 recent political history. When the women鈥檚 national volleyball team won the European championship this month, the players returned home to a hero鈥檚 welcome 鈥� and a congratulatory phone call from Mr. Erdo臒an.

The values that bind the EU are also a shield from aggression, as Turkey may be learning. If it adopts EU-style reforms, it may well be heeding the call of history.

By the Monitor's Editorial Board
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A 海角大神 Science Perspective

About this feature

Each weekday, the Monitor includes one clearly labeled religious article offering spiritual insight on contemporary issues, including the news. The publication 鈥� in its various forms 鈥� is produced for anyone who cares about the progress of the human endeavor around the world and seeks news reported with compassion, intelligence, and an essentially constructive lens. For many, that caring has religious roots. For many, it does not. The Monitor has always embraced both audiences. The Monitor is owned by a church 鈥� The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston 鈥� whose founder was concerned with both the state of the world and the quality of available news.

鈥楨vidence of things not seen鈥�

( 4 min. read )

Through a growing understanding of and confidence in God鈥檚 goodness, we are able to glimpse more and more of the healing power of divine Love.

By Emra Farkas
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Viewfinder

Eraldo Peres/AP
Sonia Guajajara, Brazil's minister of Indigenous Peoples, speaks from the top of a sound car in Bras铆lia to Indigenous women from across the country, Sept. 13, 2023. The women were gathering for a march at the end of a three-day event to strengthen the political role of Indigenous women. Ms. Guajajara, who took office in January, is the country's first minister of Indigenous Peoples. Last year, Time named her one of the world's 100 most influential people.
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( The illustrations in today’s Monitor Daily are by Karen Norris. )

A look ahead

Thank you for spending time with us. The indictment of Hunter Biden today came too late for us to include in this issue, but you can see our staff story on our website here.

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2023
September
14
Thursday

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