Nicolas Sarkozy on Burqas & Western Values

Many commentators on the political Right are in awe of French President Nicolas Sarkozy today after he delivered a speech to the French parliament yesterday in which he denounced the burqa as a form of oppression.

Sarkozy threw his weight behind establishing a parliamentary commission to look at whether or not the wearing of the burqa should be banned in France, claiming the garment 'reduces women to servitude whilst undermining their dignity'.

The BBC provides an extract from his speech:

"We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity," Mr Sarkozy told a special session of parliament in Versailles.

"That is not the idea that the French republic has of women's dignity.

"The burka is not a sign of religion, it is a sign of subservience. It will not be welcome on the territory of the French republic," the French president said.

But he stressed that France "must not fight the wrong battle", saying that "the Muslim religion must be respected as much as other religions" in the country.

Ostensibly I welcome most of his comments - he is only telling the truth, after all.

On the last line, however, he and I part company. 'The wrong battle', indeed.

In my view, that sums up what this is - a distraction, a publicity stunt. He is fighting one of the most visible symbols of Islamisation under the umbrella of women's rights - and trying to divert our attention from the less visible aspects, as well as the politicians who would struggle against the whole package of problems Islam and mass immigration have brought to France far more effectively than he could or desires to.

It's a shrewd political move in the current climate - he is being lauded by women's rights campaigners, social conservatives and patriots alike.

Although the covering and modesty of women is proscribed in the Koran, the full burqa is a symptom of Arab culture rather than a purely Islamic thing.

Nicolas Sarkozy is not a politician who genuinely cares about French values, Western values or fighting the growing Islamisation of France; he cares about effectively undermining its opposition by throwing them some bones to squabble over.

This is just my opinion, and I'm sure many will disagree. To provide some evidence, though, here is what Sarkozy said in October 2008 at the French National Assembly's 'Conference on the Teaching of Arabic Language and Culture':

In his message to the participants, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called Arabic the "language of the future, of science and of modernity," and expressed the hope that "more French people share in the language that expresses great civilizational and spiritual values."

"We must invest in the Arabic language (because) to teach it symbolizes a moment of exchange, of openness and of tolerance, (and it) brings with it one of the oldest and most prestigious civilizations of the world. It is in France that we have the greatest number of persons of Arabic and Muslim origin. Islam is the second religion of France," Sarkozy reminded his listeners.

He proceeded to enumerate the various "advances in terms of diversity," the increase in Muslim sections of cemeteries, the training of imams and chaplains and the appointments of ministers of diverse backgrounds.

"France is a friend of Arabic countries. We are not seeking a clash between the East and West," he affirmed, emphasizing the strong presence of Arab leaders at the founding summit of the Union for the Mediterranean, last July 13. "The Mediterranean is where our common hopes were founded. Our common sea is where the principal challenges come together: durable development, security, education and peace," added the French president.

Are these the words of a friend of Western civilisation and values? I think not.

The burqa is very much one of the enlightened Arab customs of which he speaks. As he says, Arabic customs, values and the Arabic language are 'the future'.

I hope that conservative commentators can stop applauding Sarkozy for long enough to imagine just what that future might be like - especially if it is accepted that people like Sarkozy constitute our only hope.