On the 26th of May 2022, the French administrative court in the Alpine city of Grenoble said that it “seriously violated the principle of neutrality in public service” by banning the all-in-one body costume worn by many Muslim women on the beach.
This move was hailed as a win for diversity and inclusion advocates.
The following quote appears in the NDTV online news article:
“Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin welcomed the court ruling as “excellent news” in a post on Twitter Wednesday evening.
The ruling was the latest development in a long-running dispute that has set defenders of France’s secular values against those arguing that a burkini ban constitutes discrimination.”
This new development should not be seen as a progress move for Muslim women in France. The active Hijab ban and recent prosecution of a French man who attacked two Muslim women in public show hatred for Islam is alive and well.
This tiny offering of dress code allowance cannot be confused with the vast resource available to Muslim women and their human rights given by Allah (swt). The idea that so many women face limited access to education, health resources and economic rights due to Hijab bans cannot be ignored.
Women living in fear and facing horrific abuse and discrimination on a daily basis can never be seen as a success story in France. The labelling of Muslim women as “less than” and “as minority to be extinguished” is the real daily struggle for Muslim women of every age group and demographic in the so-called Liberal Secular utopia of Europe.
There can be no comparison to the noble and respected treatment of the Muslim women in the Khilafah (Caliphate). They could not be spoken to in any negative terms let alone attacked in public. Slander laws protecting the virtue of women are part of the Sharia public codes of conduct and heavy consequences result upon anyone that violates these boundaries.
[وَلَا يَأْتَلِ أُوْلُوا الْفَضْلِ مِنكُمْ وَالسَّعَةِ أَن يُؤْتُوا أُوْلِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْمَسَاكِينَ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَلْيَعْفُوا وَلْيَصْفَحُوا أَلَا تُحِبُّونَ أَن يَغْفِرَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ وَاللَّهُ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ * إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَرْمُونَ الْمُحْصَنَاتِ الْغَافِلَاتِ الْمُؤْمِنَاتِ لُعِنُوا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالْآخِرَةِ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ]
“Those who slander chaste secured, and believing women are cursed in this life and in the hereafter: for them is a grievous chastisement. On the day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to their as to their actions.” [An-Nur: 22-23].
The ongoing persecution of Islamic expression is evidence of the deep awareness that Secular Democracies have of the power of Islam to dominate the world order and release humanity from the crippling grip of manmade laws which is the greatest oppression on earth. The greatness of Islam to erase all false powers and authority and equalise the balance of human injustice is the real danger that world leaders are fighting. It is time for Muslims globally to also see Islam in these dominating world contexts so they work tirelessly to bring back the true position of women as a social treasure to be respected and honored.
Imrana Mohammed
Member of the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir