The Niqab in France Between Piety and Subversion

Reviewed by: Anis Ahmad, Riphah International University, Pakistan

Published by: New York, Fordham University Press, 2024, 208pp. ISBN: 978-1531504632.

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The age of Islamophobia has unearthed the reality behind several claims of tolerance, multiculturalism, diversity, religious freedom and open society. The issue of the niqāb in France is one of the global issues which speaks volumes about the bias and discrimination against native as well as naturalized Muslim women in France and other European countries. Oriental Jews with their distinct religious identity have lived in Europe and elsewhere for centuries but their special appearance and religious symbolism did not cause any danger or threat to French and European culture. But when native French women citizens, after they embrace Islam, use the headscarf or face cover (niqāb, ḥijāb), their presence becomes a threat to French culture and society, and legal action is taken against such women and fines are imposed on them.

This research work is based on a number of interviews conducted by the author across Europe but focusing on France. The 2010 law in France defines any women using niqāb as a “deviant” and an “outsider” (p.56). In the European context, facial veiling has never been taken as a deviance nor is it a new phenomenon. Women in Catholic orders have been using it over a long period. Similar practices have existed in Japan. The motivation behind the practice among some Christian sects was apparently asceticism, piety, or even exhibitionism. But today it is linked to “anti-conformity”. This is despite the fact that it is considered internationally as a sign of modesty and religiosity, even today, as it is the case in Afghanistan.