Human rights defenders in France want to ban debate on the Islamic veil
A member of the League of Human Rights announces complaints against those who propose banning the veil for "incitement to religious discrimination"«
Women with Islamic headscarves laughing. AI
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The debate over banning the Islamic veil has returned with force in France after Marine Le Pen revived the idea of preventing its use in public spaces. Le Monde explains that The National Rally has once again placed this measure at the centre of the political debate and the party proposes fining women who wear it. But the controversy has gone a step further: lawyer and member of the League of Human Rights Arié Alimi argues that not only would banning the veil be questionable, but that Publicly defending this prohibition could already constitute an offence of incitement to religious discrimination..
Alimi made this statement in a debate on the French news channel BFMTV, where He maintained that publicly proposing a ban on the Islamic veil constitutes a provocation of religious discrimination.. According to him, the mere act of taking this debate to a television studio already constitutes a crime: «The fact that you proposed today, on your programme, and just yesterday, on your programme, that the use of the veil be banned is an incitement to religious discrimination against women who wear the veil. It is a criminal offence. It is not just a fine. It is a prison sentence.«. The lawyer also announced that The majority of anti-racist organisations will file complaints against those who have brought this proposal into public debate..
Alami also stated that The debate about the veil should not take place in a television studio., rather than before a criminal court, and that those who had moved it into public space would be prosecuted. The statements prompted a response from Marion Maréchal, a French MEP, who pointed out that the League of Human Rights receives around €700,000 a year in public funds.
One year in prison for speaking out against the veil
Alimi bases his argument on Article 24 of the French Press Freedom Act of 1881, which punishes public incitement to discrimination, hatred or violence on religious grounds. In such cases, the penalty can reach up to one year in prison and a 45,000 euro fine. According to their interpretation, defending a ban on the Islamic veil in public spaces would amount to promoting discrimination against women who wear it on account of their religion.
The most controversial point is that Alimi does not limit himself to questioning the legality of a potential ban. He goes further and maintains that The mere act of defending it publicly can in itself be a criminal offence.. This moves a political proposal into the courts and opens up a substantive debate about how far anti-discrimination legislation can go without restricting freedom of expression.
The French justice system is not so clear
The Alimi interpretation does not imply that defending the ban on the veil is automatically a crime in France. French case law has established that, to establish the offence of incitement to discrimination, it is not enough merely to express a controversial, offensive or critical opinion about a religion. The courts have required that the words constitute a call, an exhortation or an effective incitement to discriminate against, hate or use violence towards a person or group.
The Cour de cassation has also taken into account whether the statements form part of a debate of general interest. In earlier rulings on expressions relating to Islam, immigration or religion, it has distinguished between harsh or controversial opinions and conduct that actually incites discrimination. Therefore, Alimi's thesis should be examined by the courts on a case-by-case basis and does not, by itself, amount to a settled legal interpretation.
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