The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) says that the abaya, whose wearing at school regularly raises debates, "is not" a Muslim religious symbol, in a statement on Monday. "We are entitled to question the authority which, in our secular Republic, has decreed that the abaya (long traditional dress covering the body, editor's note) is a Muslim religious symbol," writes the CFCM. "For us, this garment is not one," he adds.
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The French Council of the Muslim Faith says it "feels like it is facing yet another debate on Islam and Muslims with its share of stigmatizations". "In the Muslim tradition, which we defend, any garment is not a religious symbol in itself. You only have to look at Muslim-majority countries to realize that citizens of these countries, of all faiths, are not distinguishable by the clothes they wear," he says.
Prohibited if "ostensibly manifesting a religious affiliation"
To the "very rare cases" of children who have not complied with the 2004 law that prohibits the conspicuous wearing of religious symbols, "the CFCM recalls that their religiosity is not a product or an object of advertising, nor a banner or a slogan of demonstrations".
In a circular published by the National Education last November, abayas are considered - like bandanas and long skirts, also mentioned - as outfits that can be banned if they are "worn in such a way as to ostensibly manifest a religious affiliation".
The CFCM was for a long time the interlocutor of the public authorities on the Muslim faith but the executive has ceased its relations with it, preferring another structure, the Forif (Forum of Islam of France), which has not expressed itself on this subject.