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Dreyfus, Laicite' And The Burqa, Catherine M.A. Mc Cauliff

Catherine M.A. Mc Cauliff

This Article explores the roots of the laws in France prohibiting Muslim school girls from wearing head scarves and prohibiting Muslim women from wearing religious dress in public. The Article suggests that religious pluralism rather than discrimination against free expression of religion would be a strong constitutional approach to the clash of French and Islamic cultures. Pluralism is the paradigm of the American Constitution in its approach to religious freedom, recognizing through the first amendment a strong right to conscience and religious expression, especially for minority viewpoints. Europe's tradition is not so accommodating to minority religious positions, favoring either a …