PARIS (AP) -- President Nicolas Sarkozy declared Monday that the Islamic burqa is not welcome in France, branding the face-covering, body-length gown as a symbol of subservience that suppresses women's identities and turns them into ''prisoners behind a screen.''
But there was a mixed message in the tough words: an admission that the country's long-held principle of ethnic assimilation -- which insists that newcomers shed their traditions and adapt to French culture -- is failing because it doesn't give immigrants and their French-born children a fair chance.
In a high-profile speech to lawmakers in the historic chateau at Versailles, Sarkozy said the head-to-toe Muslim body coverings were in disaccord with French values -- some of the strongest language against burqas from a European leader at a time when some Western officials have been seeking to ease tensions with the Muslim world.
''In our country, we cannot accept that women be prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity,'' Sarkozy said to extended applause of the lawmakers gathered where French kings once held court.
''The burqa is not a religious sign, it's a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement -- I want to say it solemnly,'' he said. ''It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.''
Some Muslim leaders interpret the Quran to require that women wear a headscarf, niqab or burqa in the presence of a man who is not their husband or close relative.
France is home to Western Europe's largest population of Muslims, estimated at about 5 million. A small but growing group of French women wear burqas and niqabs, which either cloak the entire body or cover everything but the eyes.
Critics fear the issue of full-body coverings, which only involves a tiny minority of French Muslims, could increase discrimination against all Muslims who display their faith in any way.
Dalil Boubakeur, director of the largest Paris mosque, said Sarkozy's push to keep out the burqa is typical of French culture, but worried that he might inflame tensions with Muslims.
The president wanted to show that ''the rules of life in France -- and that you can just bring in unjustified traditions,'' Boubakeur said.
''But you have to hope -- inshallah (God willing) -- that there won't be any ill-feeling, controversies or incidents in this confrontation between an Eastern idea and Western life,'' Boubakeur told the AP in a telephone interview. ''Or then eastern Muslims will have to return to the Orient ... completely unable to assimilate and uncomfortable in a Western system.''
But Sarkozy also said immigrants face economic challenges in France, and the government needs to do more to help them.
''Who doesn't see that our integration model isn't working any more?'' Sarkozy said. ''Instead of producing equality, it produces inequality. Instead of producing cohesion, it creates resentment.''
The unemployment rate for immigrants and their French-born children is higher than the national average. Many children of immigrants complain of discrimination, saying they get passed over for jobs because they have ''foreign-sounding'' names. Frustration of many children of north African and black immigrants boiled over in France's three-week wave of riots in 2005.
The burqa comments made up only a few lines of Sarkozy's speech, which focused on the global economic crisis and a Cabinet shake-up expected to be announced Wednesday. The address was the first by a French president to parliament in 136 years; the last was in 1873 -- before lawmakers banned the practice to protect the separation of powers and keep the president in check. That ban was scrapped last year.
In France, the terms ''burqa'' and ''niqab'' often are used interchangeably. A burqa is a full-body covering worn largely in Afghanistan -- with only a mesh screen over the eyes. A niqab is a full-body veil, often black, with slits for the eyes.
Muslim groups and government officials say it's hard to know how many women wear burqas and niqabs in France -- though estimated to be at least in the hundreds. They are far less prevalent than simpler Muslim head scarves.
A 2004 law banned wearing the Muslim head scarf at public schools, along with Jewish skullcaps and large Christian crosses. That law sparked fierce debate both at home and abroad.
In a visit to Normandy earlier this month, President Barack Obama addressed France's headscarf ban, saying countries handle such issues with their national sensitivities and histories in mind, before adding: ''I will tell you that in the United States our basic attitude is, is that we're not going to tell people what to wear.''
The French government has been divided on a burqa ban. Immigration Minister Eric Besson said a ban would only ''create tensions,'' while junior minister for human rights Rama Yade said she was open to a ban if it was aimed at protecting women forced to wear the burqa.
The burqa has come under criticism in some parts of Europe. In 2003, Sweden's National Agency for Education gave schools the right to ban pupils from wearing burqas if it interferes with the teaching or safety regulations.
The Dutch government last year described the burqa and other clothing that covers the face, as ''undesirable,'' but the ruling coalition stopped short of attempting a ban amid concerns of possible religious discrimination. But the government did say it would work toward banning burqas in schools and among public servants, saying that they stand in the way of good communication.
Later Monday, Sarkozy hosted a state dinner with Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Al Thani of Qatar -- a Persian Gulf state where women often wear niqabs. The emir was joined by one of his wives, Sheika Mozah, whose head was covered in an elegant turban.Review
As-Shaff ayat 8 : Mereka ingin memadamkan cahaya Allah dengan mulut(tipudaya) mereka,tetapi Allah tetap menyempurnakan cahayaNya, walaupun orang-orang kafir membencinya.
Beralasan bahawa budaya tidak dapat diasimilasikan, hak wanita muslim diabaikan dan bermacam-macam alasan yang tidak masuk akal. Jelas bahawa perlakuan Sarkozy laknatullah ini yang sebenarnya menggugat hak muslimah di Perancis! Muslimah tidak pernah terasa tergugat dan terkongkong dengan pemakaian niqab dan jilbab, malahan dengan redha hati menurut perintah Allah tanpa kompromi. Saya yakin,mereka yang berpakaian mengikut syariat adalah mereka yang 100% percaya akan ayat Allah :
Al-Ahzab ayat 59 : Hai Nabi, katakanlah kepada isteri-isterimu, anak-anak perempuanmu dan isteri-isteri orang mukmin: "Hendaklah mereka mengulurkan jilbabnya ke seluruh tubuh mereka." Yang demikian itu supaya mereka lebih mudah untuk dikenal, karena itu mereka tidak di ganggu. Dan Allah adalah Maha Pengampun lagi Maha Penyayang.
An-Nuur ayat 31 : Dan hendaklah mereka menutupkan kain kudung kedadanya,dan janganlah menampakkan perhiasannya kecuali kepada suami mereka, atau ayah mereka, atau ayah suami mereka, atau putera-putera mereka, atau putera-putera suami mereka, atau saudara-saudara laki-laki mereka, atau putera-putera saudara lelaki mereka, atau putera-putera saudara perempuan mereka, atau wanita-wanita islam, atau budak-budak yang mereka miliki, atau pelayan-pelayan laki-laki yang tidak mempunyai keinginan (terhadap wanita) atau anak-anak yang belum mengerti tentang aurat wanita.
Jelas, ini adalah perintah! Bukannya soal hak,kebebasan ataupun maruah, sepertimana yang difikirkan oleh akal cetek dan dungu si sarkozy laknatullah. Si kafir laknatullah bercakap tentang memberikan HAK dan menjaga maruah kepada umat Islam?? Alangkah kejinya!
Mungkin pula selepas ini akan berduyun-duyun pemerintah negara kaum muslimin yang akan mengikuti jejak langkah mereka? Tunggu dan lihat. Ini adalah antara sensitiviti umat Islam. Sesiapapun akan berasa marah dan menjulang api kebenciannya kepada kaum kafir yang biadab seperti sarkozy. Namun, ini adalah antara insiden yang perlu kita perhatikan sebagai signal dan berfikir lebih jauh dari apa yang diberitakan.
Pengharaman burqa memang akan berlaku, apabila mereka telah berjaya melakukan kejahatan lebih utama iaitu dengan MENGHARAMKAN sistem pemerintahan Islam dan pelaksanaan seluruh isi kandungan Al-Quran pada setiap penjuru bumi. Mengertilah bahawa dengan mengharamkan tertegaknya hukum Allah, maka mereka mampu untuk secara perlahan mengharamkan perkara-perkara yang lain yang menjadi lambang syariat Islam.
* Apakah mustafa kamal laknatullah akan berani untuk mengubah sistem Khilafah kepada republik kafir sekiranya Khilafah dan perlaksanaan hukum masih kuat?
*Apakah karikatur hina nabi, filem fitna dan sebagainya, akan wujud sekiranya hukum Allah diterapkan, Khilafah itu berdiri dan jihad akbar dilancarkan kepada mereka yang biadab terhadap islam?
*Apakah kerajaan sekular turki dan sarkozy berani bertindak biadab pada pemakai burqa sekiranya ada pemerintahan Islam yang menjaga maruah muslimah yang begitu suci dan tinggi martabatnya?
Kita marah kepada sarkozy. Namun perhatikan sekeliling kita. Adakah sistem yang mengatur hidup kita hari ini dan hidup kaum muslimin seluruhnya, adalah sistem yang menjaga akidah, darah,nyawa,harta dan maruah kaum muslimin? Suatu ketika, aurat seorang muslimah tersingkap dek kerja biadab seorang yahudi, lantas Rasulullah bertindak memerangi kaum yahidu tersebut. Suatu ketika aurat seorng muslimah tersingkap semasa zaman pra khalifah, dan dihantar bala tentera untuk menghancurkan kebiadaban pelakunya, kerana seorang muslimah.Kini, seorang presiden perancis sarkozy menyatakan "jika pakai burqa,anda tidak diterima di negara ini". Mari kita perhatikan, pemimpin kaum muslimin yang mana yang akan bangkit dan memberi amaran lantas menghantar tenteranya utuk menghapuskan sarkozy yang biadab itu. Saya pasti anda semua tahu jawapannya.
Namun, apa yang pasti, zaman yang tidak henti-henti menindas dan menghina umat Islam akan berakhir tidak lama lagi. Bangkitnya khilafah minhaj nabi ini akan menyaksikan pemerintahan laksana Rasulullah dan para sahabat bersama kita. Islam dijaga dan martabat umat diangkat setinggi2nya dengan terterapnya hukum Allah secara kaffah. Bersama menjadi antara tangan-tangan yang membantu agamaNya. ALLAHUAKBAR!
HR Ahmad & Baihaqi : Selanjutnya akan berdiri kembali Khilafah atas minhaj kenabian....