Press Release April 25, 2000

SECOND FRENCH CONSULATE IN U.S. AGREES TO ALLOW MUSLIM HEADSCARF IN PASSPORT PHOTO
North Carolina resident still denied the right to wear Islamic scarf for national ID

(WASHINGTON, D.C., 4/25/2000) - The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) today announced that a Muslim woman in North Carolina has reached an agreement with officials at France's consulate in Atlanta, Ga., that would allow her to wear a religiously-mandated headscarf in a passport photo. That action came after the consulate was contacted by many concerned Muslims who supported the woman's internationally-recognized right to religious freedom.

"It is encouraging to see that French officials in America are beginning to realize that a hostile attitude toward Islamic attire only serves to harm the image of France worldwide," said CAIR Board Chairman Omar Ahmad. Ahmad added while the consulate in Atlanta agreed to allow the headscarf for the passport photo, it is still refusing to allow a similar photo for the woman's French national identification card.

Earlier this month, CAIR reported that another French resident in America wished to renew her passport but was denied that right when she refused to remove or alter her scarf to meet the demands of a consulate official in Chicago. The consulate later agreed to allow the headscarf. ("Consulate Backs Down on Passport Photo," Chicago Tribune, 4/12/2000)

The Islamic headscarf is a sensitive issue in France, a country in which Islam is already the second largest faith after Catholicism. Muslim students are often expelled from French schools for wearing Islamic attire. Late last year, France's highest administrative court reaffirmed a ban on the wearing of scarves in public schools. French Muslims, who are mostly immigrants from Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and other former colonies, also say they are the targets of racial and religious discrimination in that country.

There are an estimated six million Muslims in America and 1.2 billion worldwide. Islam is one of the fastest growing religions in North America.

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