Q&A: On the Burkini Uproar in France
On the Burkini Uproar in France
Question
The law in several cities in France regarding the burkini really does call for the Rabbi’s response, because the Rabbi in particular writes a lot about the emptiness of the postmodern ideals of secularism and the left, and so on. And what is happening in France right now is the first time (and surely not the last) that those ideas have been trampled so crudely, and through this it is proven unequivocally that behind the great ideals there is nothing holding them up except uncertainty about everything. What I don’t understand is what makes them take such an illogical step.
Answer
Yochai, hello.
You are completely right. I really did think about writing about this. But understanding what causes them to behave this way is completely straightforward. They are worried about an Islamic takeover and are reacting against it viscerally. You are right that it is illogical, because banning the burkini will not really help them; on the contrary, it will only further increase anger and resistance among the Muslims.
By the way, it seems to me that in our shaky and inferior democracy this certainly would not have passed the High Court of Justice, and left-wing people would immediately have hysterically declared, in their usual way, the death of democracy. It seems to me that here there is more ideology and less pragmatism, and therefore this would not have happened. I do not know whether that is for better or worse. On the one hand, there is room to preserve the natural anger and opposition toward your oppressors, and on the other hand, it is important to act rationally and according to your values.
In my opinion, the ban on the burkini is indeed a serious, unjustified, and intolerable violation of human rights. If it helped in any way against terrorism and Muslim violence, I would support it, but as stated, that is not the case. For example, a ban on a burqa in the street can be understood, because it makes it difficult to identify the women and that can create a security problem. But a ban on a burkini at the beach is just an expression of anger and a desire to mistreat Muslims. The mayors there (and it seems to me the prime minister as well) say this explicitly. They openly argue that the burkini is a provocation expressing a Muslim rebellion against secular democracy (which is probably nonsense), and therefore they ban it, not for any justified reason. I do not understand since when, in a democracy, it is forbidden to protest against something, however important it may be.
The same goes for the ban on building mosques in Switzerland and the ban on wearing religious symbols in schools and public places in several places in Europe. All of these are moral and civic scandals in my view. Here, of course, all the knights of democracy are silent, because only here is democracy collapsing. Everywhere else it is perfect.