Local Muslims warn France against straining relations

Ary Hermawan , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta Thu, 06/25/2009 11:09 AM Headlines
Indonesian Muslims say the burqa is not Islamic and is widely shunned in the country with the world's largest Muslim population, but warn France against straining Muslim-West relations should it push through legislation that could stigmatize those who wear it.
In what can be seen as another clash between Western liberal and Islamic sharia values, French President Nicholas Sarkozy has said the burqa is "not welcome" in France, branding it "a sign of subservience" that turns women into prisoners.
The burqa is an outer garment traditionally worn by some Muslim women, mostly in the Middle East, to cover their bodies from head to toe.
The French parliament on Tuesday formed a commission to study the wearing of the garment, considered conspicuous even in some Muslim countries, and may pass a regulation banning it from being worn in public in France.
Noted Islamic scholar Azyumardi Azra said the burqa was not common in Indonesia because Muslims here believed it went against the principles of modesty and propriety taught by the Prophet Muhammad and the Koran. "It could trigger resistance from society, not only in France but also in Muslim communities," he said.
Azra went on to lament Sarkozy's "derogatory" remarks on the burqa, which he claimed showed continued prejudice against Muslims, and suggested the French people might regard even the widely used jilbab in Indonesia a form of domestication.
Such remarks, he said, could inflame Muslim anger and disrupt efforts by US President Barack Obama to end hostilities between the West and the Muslim world.
"They should have talked with moderate Muslims there to campaign for an Islamic way of life that conforms to French values," he said.
While admitting that Muslims must be able to adapt to the society they live in, Azra said creating a regulation banning burqa would also be counterproductive and lead to more problems.
Indonesian Muslims are mostly moderate in their way of life and political views. The burqa is alien even to the more puritan Muslim groups in the country.
"Muslim clerics are at odds over the burqa," said Hizbut Tahrir Indonesia (HTI) spokesman Ismail Yusanto. "Hizbut Tahrir believes it is not compulsory for women to cover their faces."
Despite his view on the issue, he lashed out at France for applying double standards when dealing with Muslims.
"The French are so proud of the so-called Western values: libert*, *galit*, fraternit*. If they believe in freedom, where's the freedom for Muslims?" he said.
"Why should the state regulate how people should dress?"
Another Muslim activist, Siti Musdah Mulia of the Indonesian Conference on Religion and Peace, said France had the right to regulate burqa for administrative and security reasons.
"I don't see *the plan to ban burqa* as an infringement of religious freedom. I myself don't want my students to come to my class with their faces covered," she said.
In 2004, France, which has long abided by a principle of laicism, passed a law banning Muslim headscarves, Christian crosses and Jewish skullcaps at public schools.