Modesty of Muslim woman poses threat to security of France

Supreme Court of France has turned down the citizenship application submitted by Moroccan woman for the reason that she wears a headscarf. The French court regarded it as "radical practices" incompatible with the key French values such as sexual equality.

Le Monde reported that it was the first time when personal religious practice becomes the reason for denying the citizenship.

The newspaper is asking the question: "Is a Nikab (veil) incompatible with French citizenship?" The edition quotes the saying by Danielle Lochaque, the lawyer who did not take part in the decision. He stressed that it is strange to deny citizenship for excessive obedience to a man.

In the case with the Moroccan woman the decision of the State Council is another extreme - a refusal to recognize the woman's beliefs and way of life without trying to meet her halfway.

The woman came to France in 2000 and is now married to a French citizen. She speaks fluent French. Three of her children were born in France.

She wears a black veil that covers her entire body except for the eyes that are seen through a narrow slit. She lives in "complete obedience" to her husband and her male relatives, as the report of social services says. The woman is 32 years old.

The woman was denied French citizenship in 2005 based on "insufficient assimilation". She appealed to the State Council, but last month the Council confirmed the legitimacy for the refusal.

"She adopted radical practices of her religion, incompatible with basic values of the French society, such as sexual equality," says the decision of the State Council ruled last month.

State Council is a legal body that has the last word in the litigation between persons and government entities.

The decision followed a few weeks after another scandalous case caused by the clamor around the incursion of traditionalist Muslim views into the French legislature. The French Court has shown its biased attitude towards Muslims by refusing to dissolve the Muslim marriage because the wife turned out not to be chaste, as she had claimed earlier.