Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 16 2008
French freemasons slam headscarf freedom
Freemasons in France have slammed the elimination of a headscarf ban
at Turkish universities in a move to justify many international
conspiracy theories as to scarf freedom.
At a meeting held earlier this week in Paris, French freemasons
harshly criticized a measure adopted last weekend by the Turkish
Parliament to lift the headscarf ban on university campuses, saying
such a freedom may end up redefining secularism in Turkey, a
reservation given voice to by some foreigners who are opposed to
allowing covered students to enter universities. "The headscarf masks
hair, which is indeed a significant component of femininity," they
said.
The meeting, which was organized by the Association of European
Journalists (AEJ) on Tuesday, was attended by Jean-Michel Quillardet,
the masonic leader of the Grand Orient — the largest of several
Masonic organizations in France. Quillardet asserted that the
elimination of the headscarf ban is a reactionary act in terms of
women’s status in society.
The headscarf ban, which was imposed in the late 1990s at
universities under an earlier ruling by the Constitutional Court on
grounds that the headscarf’s presence on campuses was a violation of
the nation’s secular principles, was lifted by Parliament on
Saturday, when constitutional amendments proposed by the government
to remove the long-standing ban were approved by a vote of 411 to 103
in a second and final round of voting.
"Wearing the headscarf is not a command of Islam. There is no such
command in the Quran. It is something made up by individuals. It
symbolizes the state of belonging to a certain group. As a freemason,
I am against the idea of representing identities at a university, a
place of development, knowledge and change," he said.
Quillardet also criticized some European countries, including France,
for not prohibiting the use of headscarves at universities. "I
believe that freedom to wear a headscarf on university campuses will
bring with it problems in the future," he noted.
Underlining that French freemasons have strong ties with the masonic
formation in Turkey, Quillardet claimed those who favor the idea of
abolishing the headscarf ban at universities are in fact people
against democracy. "I don’t think people who back freedom to wear a
headscarf in Turkey are right. They may be mistaken. There are times
when the society is against democracy," he stressed.
Quillardet also lashed out at José Manuel Barroso, president of the
European Commission, for remarks that European culture takes its
roots from Christianity.
"I am going to have a meeting with Barroso in Brussels on April 8 to
discuss this issue. I will tell him that European culture takes its
roots from the Age of Enlightenment. Masonic organizations in
Brussels will soon release a joint statement on this subject which
will be undersigned by several Turkish freemasons," noted Quillardet.
He also said Turkish freemasons will kick off studies to persuade the
Turkish government to recognize the so-called Armenian genocide in
the coming months. "I told my Turkish brothers to work on the
Armenian genocide. They will make necessary preparations to make
Turkey recognize it through democratic means," he said.
16.02.2008
ALÝ ÝHSAN AYDIN PARIS
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress