Why are the headscarves worn by Muslims so controversial in France and Turkey? What are some of the issues that have been raised by the controversy?

What will be an ideal response?

Students should note that France and Turkey both believe in a strict version of secularism in which religion is seen as a private matter to be kept out of the public sphere. A headscarf is a prominent public sign of religious identity. Although a majority of Turkey’s population is Muslim, in France, Muslims are a religious minority. In France, the debate revolved in part around why some religious symbols (such as crosses) were seemingly accepted when others (headscarves) were not. In Turkey, the debate has been particularly tense because the military has historically stepped in as a guarantor of secularism.