Reading journal - Essay Example

Your full full July 06, Reading Journal: ‘The French, the Veil, and the Look’ by Elaine SciolinoCultural protection, security, and conformance to law are three such things on which French government pays special attention. The main point in this article is that whether there should be some restrictions on the way people dress in public or they should be allowed to wear what they want (Sciolino). The author of the article has consulted Quran and Muslim scholars to come with the viewpoint that hiding the face along with other body parts is not required in the religion of Islam.

The French government supports and protects secularism and equality between men and women. The government sees the covering of face using veil, mask, or any other such thing as a threat to national security. The author has raised two questions for this stance of French government. First question is that whether all French people wearing masks and helmets be punished or restricted the same way as in case of veils? Second question is that will the government force the Arab tourists to bare their faces?

When these questions are there, why the government is creating such a fuss for a very less number of face covering women? The answers seem to be the cultural, historical, and political facts. In the French culture, conversations between strangers and eye contact hold a key place but Muslim women do not do this because of which the French values are at risk. Sartorial rejection of French values because of veils is another reason for the government to put a ban on face covering. The author sums up the article by stating the fact that France is a country where uncovered bodies, breasts, and buttocks are cheered and celebrated.

Covering the face by veil does just opposite to that because of which the government cannot allow it in any case.Application of the Reading The issues that the article summarized above raises for me or my classroom community are personal preference and culture. For example, if I am from a culture where covering the face is essential for a woman when she is in public, then what will I do when the government will not allow me to do so? Similarly, it can be my own choice to cover my face or not.

Does not it go against the self-independence or self-freedom? Although such questions can rise in the mind of any person, but the issues associated with veils, such as, threat to security cannot be ignored. Female terrorists have been reported to be using veils and burkas while carrying out the terrorist attacks in different parts of the world. They can hide their identities using veils and can carry out any violent attempt on any one. This article by Elaine Sciolino connects to the article named ‘Fear Not Globalization’ by Joseph S. Nye Jr. in a sense that it talks about cultural destruction and diversification, which is also one of the main ongoing issues in France.

In the article by Nye Jr., the United States has been exemplified as a victim of cultural destruction because of globalization. The similarity between these two articles is that of cultural diversification because of globalization, whereas the difference is that the first article talks specifically about veils as a threat to security and cultural values and the second article sticks to one issue, which is cultural destruction and diversification because of globalization. Reading both articles and establishing a connection between them has made me reconsider my opinion about covering of faces using veils.

Now, I think that the French government’s ban is somehow justified in a sense that it is targeted towards cultural protection and national security.Works CitedNye Jr., Joseph. “Fear Not Globalization.” Newsday.com, 07 Oct. 2002. Web. 06 Jul. 2014. .Sciolino, Elaine. “The French, the Veil, and the Look.” The New York Times, 16 Apr. 2011. Web. 06 Jul. 2014. .