Earlier today the Guardian Council ruled, after a partial recount of only 10% of the ballots, that the election results from before were valid and Ahmadinejad was the legitimate president. Tomorrow Mousavi will respond to this. his speech could make or break the will of the demonstrators in Iran.
I spoke with Ali Abdi, an activist in Iran. Full report.
Reference article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8112821.stm
Further Reading: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8113778.stm
Nicolas Sarkozy, French President, spoke some days ago to Parliament on the issue of immigrant and cultural integration in France. He specifically targeted the traditional burqa, a dress covering the entire person, usually loose fitting to be worn over normal clothes. The purpose, in some Islamic traditions, is to satisfy call for dressing modestly in the Qur’an, and many women are expected to wear them whenever they leave the house. However, the burqa is not specifically named in the Qur’an, only the hajib, and scholars often debate what exactly constitutes modesty.
Mr. Sarkozy called the burqa a sign of servitude, and that it stripped women of their dignity. “We cannot accept to have in our country women who are prisoners behind netting, cut off from all social life, deprived of identity. 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.” But he did not attack Islam, stressing that all cultures and religions must be tolerated and respected equally.
Nor did he call for legislation to ban the burqa. He backed a parliamentary commission to investigate the cultural and psychological effects of the burqa to then determine the appropriate action, although it’s main aim is simply to decide whether or not banning is appropriate. Full Report
Our Insider: Shaima’a Hajj
More views to come on this issue.
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