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For the record, before I begin, I don’t necessarily support the burqa ban. Granted, I have not studied the issue that much, but just as an initial reaction, I tend to think that it is opposed to religious freedom. The Passionist Nuns, and other religious in the Catholic Church, for instance, are heavily covered in their habits, albeit not their faces. Having said that, if law enforcement officials think this is helpful to them in investigation of terrorism, I’d be fine with it. I would not support it if it is an attempt to suppress a particular culture, however, and Catholic teaching also embraces different cultures where they do not oppose Catholic doctrine. The covering of one’s face, in and of itself, is not opposed to the Catholic Faith.
“Democracy” is a highly misunderstood word. Even here in America, it is misunderstood. The Founding Fathers of our country were rightly opposed to democracy for the very reason referred to in Ansari’s article. That is, majority rule by a barbaric people will crush the rights of the minority. (Please watch “The American Form of Government“.) What we have in America is a democratic republic, with emphasis on “republic”. Our founding documents, which the Founders hoped we would adhere to, are based on the most basic Judeo-Christian principles. (Please watch “Birth of Freedom“.) This prevents a barbaric majority from usurping the God-given rights (as expressed in basic Judeo-Christian principles) of a minority population. Unfortunately, America has strayed from these principles, but though people have strayed, my explanation of our country’s basic principles indicate how the American form of government is ostensibly supposed to work.
But what about France? Well, France is not a secular democracy either. It is a secular republic. (See Constitution of the Fifth Republic). The fact that it is a republic means that there are certain principles that no majority may violate because they are essential to a traditional (in France) view of freedom that has at least some basis in human dignity. As such, it could be considered, on some level, Judeo-Christian in nature.
In a Judeo-Christian society, I would argue, Muslim women would most certainly be allowed to wear their burqas. The only reasonable limitation would be in regard to the personal security of others. Unfortunately, all of us have a fallen human nature, which causes many of us to rebel against our own laws. If this were not so, we would not need prisons, and as it stands, our prisons have been quite full in many places. Even the Founders could not bring themselves to end slavery, and unfortunately, over the years, so many have rejected Judeo-Christian values in their hearts that they no longer value them in their laws. This has happened also in France. Indeed, many even claim to be Catholic when they are in no way believers who are practicing their religion.
It is not “Catholic” to ban burqas. It is true that nominally Catholic (and perhaps even faithful Catholic) people will sometimes vote to ban burqas…or other things that aren’t necessarily taught by the Catholic Church…but they do it for reasons apart from their own religion. It is not fair, then, to blame Catholicism for the burqa ban in France. Further, the Catholic bishops in France have been fairly clear that a burqa ban is not in keeping with our Faith.
From CathNews.com, February, 2010:
The Catholic Church in France has warned against government plans to ban full veils on Muslim women in the country, urging mutual respect between faiths.
“If we want Christian minorities in Muslim majority countries to enjoy all their rights, we should in our country respect the rights of all believers to practice their faith,” Bishop Michel Santier, the top French Catholic official for inter-religious dialogue, was quoted as saying by Reuters and the UK’s Daily Mail.
I would argue to Ansari that his article potentially incites misplaced animosity toward Catholicism through “baseless allegation“, at least by strong implication, and respectfully ask for a retraction and/or clarification.
Also, I would call upon Catholics in France to listen to their bishops on this, and all matters pertaining to faith and morals. If you are going to claim to be a Catholic, please try to act like one.
This story is cross-posted from LisaGraas.com
