French Hijab Bans Reveal the True Colours of Capitalism

News:

TRT global news discussed the recent ban on Head scarves for Muslim women in sports.

Celebrated sports personalities have argued that the bill was targeting one religion and that French society should instead focus on promoting equality instead of 'Restricting Muslims from public life’.

Discussions have increased about the legislation being discriminatory and Islamophobic. Amnesty International condemned it for targeting Muslim women and excluding them from sports. "This forces women to choose between faith and playing," said Les Hijabeuses, a group of hijab-wearing soccer players who have lodged a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights.

One sister, Salimata Sylla, a 27-year-old basketball player, was barred from competing in 2023 for wearing a headscarf. The new bill is backed by right-wing politicians aims to ban all religious attire in sports, formalising such restrictions across competitions. The bill recently passed the Senate and awaits debate in the lower house.

Comment:

It must be appreciated that no amount of grassroots protests or new organisations will change the fact that Muslim women are always going to be condemned for being visible with their Islamic identity.

Sylla, referenced above who refused to remove her hijab despite it being approved for competitive use, now organises inclusive tournaments in Paris for players with or without headscarves. “I won’t stop playing the sport I love,” she said.

Figures like five-time Olympic judo champion Teddy Riner have also voiced opposition. “This law unfairly targets one religion. We need to focus on equality,” Riner stated.

All of these efforts will be dismissed by those who are the real decision-makers. They are not interested in any kind of democratic engagement when there are clear agendas to make sure that Islam is never considered an ideological reference point.

In fact, the more Muslims express protest, the more they will be labelled as a fundamentalist threat and greater evidence will given to limit their influence in social life.

Currently, France remains the only European country banning religious headwear in sports, according to Amnesty International, but that does not mean that other regions are now somehow safe spaces with no set date for debate in the lower house, and many fear the legislation could further marginalise Muslim women in French sports, and their “fears are correct in part.

These measures are not just about the marginalisation of Muslim women in sports, but they are giving clear signals that Islam is public enemy number 1, not Muslim women wearing hijab.

We as Muslims must think beyond single-issue politics and realise that those in power to protect us in the Muslim world stay silent at the abuses of Muslim women by order of their masters, the West.

They are paid puppets to keep the influence of Islamic authority in check just as the Western governments want.

[وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ آمِنُوا كَمَا آمَنَ النَّاسُ قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَا آمَنَ السُّفَهَاءُ ۚ أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ السُّفَهَاءُ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ * وَإِذَا لَقُوا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَالُوا آمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْا إِلَىٰ شِيَاطِينِهِمْ قَالُوا إِنَّا مَعَكُمْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُسْتَهْزِئُونَ * اللَّـهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ وَيَمُدُّهُمْ فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ * أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوْا الضَّلَالَةَ بِالْهُدَىٰ فَمَا رَبِحَتْ تِجَارَتُهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا مُهْتَدِينَ]

“When told to believe as others do, they respond with, "Shall we believe as fools have believed?" In fact, it is they who are the fools, but they are not aware. When they meet believers, they say, "We believe," but when alone with their "evil ones," they say, "We are with you, we were only mocking." Allah mocks them and leaves them to continue blindly in their transgression. Those are the ones who have purchased error [in exchange] for guidance, so their transaction has brought no profit, nor were they guided.”

As we witness the best days of Dul Al Hijjah, the believing men and women of the Ummah must embrace the worship of not only the Hajj but the return of the Quran and Sunnah in implementation upon all of mankind. In this way, we will never have to be under the permission of the enemies of Islam to be visible in our Deen.