Remove religious garb? 'Kippa debate' in France sends defiant message

[rug]

A Jewish leader suggested that men avoid wearing the skull cap after the stabbing of a Jewish teacher this week. Now French are again debating the boundaries of their country's sharp separation of church and state.



Men wore a kippa, the traditional Jewish skullcap, as they attended a visit of French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve at a synagogue after an attack in front of a Jewish school in Marseille, France, Jan. 14.

By Colette Davidson, Correspondent
Sara Miller Llana, Staff writer
January 15, 2016

Paris — When a Jewish leader in France asked his fellow Jews to put away their kippas, or skull caps, “until better days,” he set off a firestorm that exposed both the fear of terrorism here as well as the resolve to resist it.

But the “kippa debate” has also thrust France's fierce embrace of secularism into an uncomfortable spotlight.

In a nation where religious garb is a lightning rod, typically something to be hidden rather than proudly displayed, the nation is reiterating the right to wear the religious symbol. Some have even called for non-Jews to put on a kippa in solidarity, underscoring the national desire to send a defiant message in the face of intimidation.

The debate started in Marseille after a Jewish school teacher was stabbed Monday by a teenager of Turkish-Kurdish descent, who later told police he did so in the name of the self-declared Islamic State. The attack happened just after weekend commemorations of last January's terrorist attacks against the Charlie Hebdo magazine and a kosher supermarket that killed four Jews.

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2016/0115/Remove-religious-garb-Kippa-debate-in-France-sends-defiant-message

[MariaThinks]

1. it's amazing to see the similarity in religous garb in cultures all around the world

is there anything special or unique or just an attempt to demonstrate differences and an attempt at demonstrating faith in something.

Does anyone see similarity in the hijab and the habits worn by nuns?

[rug]

2. The similarities are striking.

[MADem]

3. Hijab and nun's habits ARE the same doggone thing....

They are costumes from centuries past, exported from "The Holy Land."

The nuns had time on their hands, and spent a bit more time tailoring, but it's the same deal with the same goal--hide the hair and the form.

[Cartoonist]

4. Religious gear

The only purpose of holy clothes is to distinguish "Us" from "Them", with the word them spoken with hatred and contempt. And it has to be displayed so that everyone can see it. There's no such thing as a religious handkerchief you keep in your pocket, out of sight.

The most prevalent badge is headgear. That way God can tell who's who from whatever cloud he's riding on that day.

[rug]

5. Do you think it should be outlawed in public?

[Cartoonist]

6. No

It's just one of those aspects of religion that need a little reality check. Does God really care what you wear? If you think so, then your god is the most discriminatory asshole imaginable. Government does not need to follow his lead.

I am opposed to religions requiring the wearing of certain items, but that's just a minor complaint.