EVREN KUCUKKAYA

Business Ethics Seminar Professor Paul Leiman

Ethical Analyses of France Full-Face Veil Ban
evrenkucukkaya@msn.com Tel: 0651318872

2012

ISG-INTERNATONAL MBA

Summary
Ethics is one of the challenging concepts of present-day. Ethics is a concept that we are using in every seconds of our life to decide between the right and the wrong by depending on our past experiences, culture and religion we growth in and conscience. At its simplest, ethics is a system of moral principles. They affect how people make decisions and lead their lives. Ethics is concerned with what is good for individuals and society and is also described as moral philosophy. The term is derived from the Greek word ethos which can mean custom, habit, character or disposition. Ethics covers the following dilemmas: how to live a good life our rights and responsibilities the language of right and wrong Moral decisions - what is good and bad?

Our concepts of ethics have been derived from religions, philosophies and cultures. They infuse debates on topics like abortion, human rights and professional conduct1. Ethics of life is a guide in the all areas of the life. People are using codes of ethics in business, community or political life alongside their daily life. People use the codes of ethics in their daily life to decide between right or wrong or use to solve the right vs. right dilemma about their own life or the situations about their families and their friends. Codes of ethics are using for the right vs. right, right vs. wrong or wrong vs. wrong decisions which are affecting the life of community or the future of a business and the stakeholders who are affecting because these decisions. Decisions about freedom (what is the limit of the freedom, where it starts and ends?), and decisions about the human rights are the most challenging topics for the ethics. Moral compass will help anyone when he/she decide on these kinds of problems. Moral compass is anything or any value which serves to guide a person's decisions based on morals or virtues2. Limits of rights or freedoms will be a knife edge for anyone or any mechanism which want to be a decision-maker for these limits. Especially, a persons right to be a part of a religion and limits of these demands always a real knife edge for all governments.

1 2

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml retrieved at 26.06.2012 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/moral+compass retrieved at 26.06.2012

1 Evren KUCUKKAYA

Table of Contents
Summary ................................................................................................................................................. 1 I. II. A. 1. 2. 3. 4. B. 1. 2. a) b) c) 3. 4. C. 1. 2. 3. 4. D. 1. 2. 3. 4. E. 1. 2. 3. 4. III. IV. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 4 Stakeholders .................................................................................................................................... 5 French Government ........................................................................................................................ 5 Responsibilities: ............................................................................................................................... 5 Values: ............................................................................................................................................. 7 Rights: .............................................................................................................................................. 7 Freedoms: ........................................................................................................................................ 7 Muslim Communities in France ....................................................................................................... 7 Responsibilities: ............................................................................................................................... 8 Values: ............................................................................................................................................. 8 Five Basic Values for All Mankind: ................................................................................................... 9 Secondary Values: Conveniences: ................................................................................................... 9 Luxury Values: Refinements: ........................................................................................................... 9 Rights: .............................................................................................................................................. 9 Freedoms: ...................................................................................................................................... 10 Muslim Women ............................................................................................................................. 10 Responsibilities: ............................................................................................................................. 10 Values: ........................................................................................................................................... 10 Rights: ............................................................................................................................................ 10 Freedoms: ...................................................................................................................................... 11 French Citizens .............................................................................................................................. 11 Responsibilities: ............................................................................................................................. 11 Values: ........................................................................................................................................... 11 Rights: ............................................................................................................................................ 12 Freedoms: ...................................................................................................................................... 12 Non-governmental Organizations ................................................................................................. 12 Responsibilities: ............................................................................................................................. 12 Values: ........................................................................................................................................... 12 Rights: ............................................................................................................................................ 13 Freedoms: ...................................................................................................................................... 13 Ethical Dilemma (Right vs. Right) .............................................................................................. 13 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 14 2 Evren KUCUKKAYA

References ............................................................................................................................................. 15

3 Evren KUCUKKAYA

I.
Ban.

Introduction

This essay generally examines various aspects of the Ethical Implications of Frances Veil

In April 11th, 2011 France accepted a law that bans full face veils. France on Monday formally banned the wearing of full veils in public places, becoming the first country in Europe to impose restrictions on a form of attire that some Muslims consider a religious obligation. The ban, which came after a year of debate and months of preparation, is viewed by supporters as a necessary step to preserve French culture and to fight what they see as separatist tendencies among Muslims. But the ban set off protests in Paris and several other cities, and it has left many Muslims, including those in this heavily immigrant community near Lyon, worried about their rights as French citizens3. From the Associated Press report on the worlds first country to ban the veils anywhere in public:4 French President Nicolas Sarkozy set the wheels in motion for the ban nearly two years ago, saying the veils imprison women and contradict this secular nations values of dignity and equality. The ban enjoyed wide public support when it was approved by parliament last year.5 These veils are the part of the cloths of Muslim womens that named burqa or nicab which are required by the radical followers of the laws of the sharia. Burqa and Nicab are the clothes which are mostly in black and cover the full body of the women. These kinds of clothes are mostly required by law in Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Afghanistan etc. Full body covering characteristics of this clothing type, identifying the person inside that cloth is becoming impossible. Especially, after 09.11.2001 and the several bombing incidents in Europe which are organized by the Islamic terrorist groups this characteristic of this clothing type was became a security issue for most of the European countries (England and Spain). Losing the ability of identifying of the identity persons who is wearing a full-face veil can cause a security concerns for the French government. Beside of these security concerns this type of clothing is seen as disrespecting of the French values and separation of church and state. Covering face of a woman can be seen as a destruction of her personality and an effort to eliminating the
3 4

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/world/europe/12france.html retrieved on 26.06.2012 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/french-face-veil-ban-goes-into-effect-twoarrested/2011/04/11/AFQuH7KD_blog.html retrieved on 26.06.2012 5 http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/french-face-veil-ban-goes-into-effect-twoarrested/2011/04/11/AFQuH7KD_blog.html retrieved on 26.06.2012

4 Evren KUCUKKAYA

position in the community. These efforts are opposite to the principle of equity of the law constitution of France.

II.

Stakeholders

To realize the ethical dilemma in this case, this study first needs to realize the involved stakeholders because of the full-face veil ban. This study must explain the values, rights, freedoms and responsibilities of these stakeholders to find the ethical dilemma in this full-face veil ban case. The stakeholders who are involved this full-face veil ban is; A. French Government, B. Muslim Communities in France, C. Muslim Women, D. French Citizens, E. Non-governmental Organizations.

A.

French Government
1.

Responsibilities:

French government is responsible to protect its citizens and implementation of the laws that which are stated by the constitution of France as any other countries. The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from 19466. Sovereignty is determined under four articles in the French constitution. These articles are;

Article 1 France shall be an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic. It shall ensure the equality of all citizens before the law, without distinction of origin, race or religion. It shall respect all beliefs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_France#Impact_on_personal_freedoms retrieved on 26.06.2012

5 Evren KUCUKKAYA

Article 2 The language of the Republic shall be French. The national emblem shall be the blue, white and red tricolour flag. The national anthem shall be La Marseillaise. The motto of the Republic shall be Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity . Its principle shall be: government of the people, by the people and for the people.

Article 3 National sovereignty shall belong to the people, who shall exercise it through their representatives and by means of referendum. No section of the people nor any individual may arrogate to itself, or to himself, the exercise thereof. Suffrage may be direct or indirect as provided by the Constitution. It shall always be universal, equal and secret. All French citizens of either sex who have reached their majority and are in possession of their civil and political rights may vote as provided by statute. Statutes shall promote equal access by women and men to elective offices and positions.

Article 4 Political parties and groups shall contribute to the exercise of suffrage. They shall be formed and carry on their activities freely. They must respect the principles of national sovereignty and democracy. They shall contribute to the implementation of the principle set out in the last paragraph of article 3 as provided by statute7.

http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/reformclub/f/franceconst.html retrieved on 26.06.2012

6 Evren KUCUKKAYA

2.

Values:

All of these four articles are about the respect of beliefs and equity of the people. But in article one and article two what must be the values against the religious beliefs of French government is explaining clearly by; France shall be an indivisible, secular, democratic and social Republic. It shall ensure the equality of all citizens before the law, without distinction of origin, race or religion. It shall respect all beliefs. The motto of the Republic shall be Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity .

These two sentences clearly show us what must be the values and line of vision of the French governments against the religion beliefs of the people not only its own citizens but universally.

3.

Rights:

Still French government has a right to protect its citizen against the terrorism and subjugation. Because of its principle of Equity the government cannot allow the subjugation of women or destruction of their personality. Not only French government, all governments on the world has a right to take an action against the activities which are threatening its values and the rights of its citizens.

4.

Freedoms:

Because of the same reasons that mentioned below the topics of responsibilities and rights, French government must be free to protect its values and citizens. Main problem about this freedom of the government is that, what are the limits of freedom of taking actions of the French government.

B.

Muslim Communities in France

As of 2010, according to the French Government which does not have the right to ask direct questions about religion and uses a criterion of peoples geographic origin as a basis for calculation, there are 5 to 6 million Muslims in metropolitan France. The government counted all those people in France who came here from countries with a dominant Muslim population, or whose parents did. Only 33% of those 5 to 6 million people (2 million) said they were

7 Evren KUCUKKAYA

practicing believers. That figure is the same as that obtained by the INED/INSEE study in October 20108. An Interior ministry source in l'Islam dans la Rpublique (Haut Conseil l'intgration, November 2000, p. 26) published the following estimated distribution of Muslims by affiliated countries9: Algeria Morocco Tunisia Turkey Sub-Saharan Africa Middle East remaining Asia (mostly Pakistan and Bangladesh) Converts illegal immigrants or awaiting regularisation Other Total Table1. Muslim communities in France 1,550,000 1,000,000 350,000 315,000 250,000 100,000 100,000 40,000 350,000 100,000 4,155,000

1.

Responsibilities:

Main responsibility of these communities is respecting the laws of France where they are living. Another responsibility of these communities is preventing the misunderstanding about the Islam in France. Unfortunately, Muslims word is matching with the terrorist and ignorant. Changing these misunderstanding must be one of the most important responsibilities of the Muslim communities.

2.

Values:

Among Muslims, 36% described themselves as "observant believers", and 20% claimed to go regularly to the mosque for the Friday service. 70% said they "observe Ramadan". This would amount to a number of roughly 1.5 million French Muslims who are
8

http://plus.lefigaro.fr/note/how-does-france-count-its-muslim-population-20110407-435643 retrieved on 27.06.2012 9 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_France#cite_note-6 retrieved on 27.06.2012

8 Evren KUCUKKAYA

"observant believers", another 1.5 million who identify with Islam enough to observe Ramadan, and 1 million citizens of "(Islam observing lineage) Muslim extraction" but with no strong religious or cultural ties to Islam. The number of people of Islam observing lineage who are practicing Roman Catholics is negligible10. The values of Islam are a complicated topic. Simply they are;

a)

Five Basic Values for All Mankind:

Life: Respect on human soul and life is in high priority in Islam. Attacking to innocent is an unforgiving sin. Religion: Freedom to choose. No coercion in Islam Intellect or Knowledge: Knowledge must be secured by society Family Life and Offspring: Family is always respected in Islam. Wealth, is an fundamental human value

b)

Secondary Values: Conveniences:

Conveniences comprise all activities and things that are not vital to preserve the five foundations, but rather, are needed to remove difficulties or impediments in life. Examples include the use and enjoyment of things that man can do without, but with difficulty, such as the use of some mode of transport (a car), a carpet in winter, etc.

c)

Luxury Values: Refinements:

This category includes items that are beyond those for convenience. They do not only remove difficulty but improve the comfort. For example, if a car is considered as an item of convenience, than a chauffeur-driven car is obviously a refinement11.

3.

Rights:

These communities have the rights of living in their religious beliefs freely. They have rights to teach their children with their knowledge, pray in their sacred places (mosque

10 11

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_France#cite_note-express-7 retrieved on 27.06.2012 http://islam.uga.edu/norms_values.html retrieved on 27.06.2012

9 Evren KUCUKKAYA

etc.), celebrating their religious days, or choosing their clothes depends on their beliefs etc. short of the long, they have the same rights that other communities have.

4.

Freedoms:

Freedoms of these communities are free to pray in the way of their religion, getting educated on their religion, choosing their clothes, choosing to believe what they want, and free to choose to not to believe. Still the problem is the limitations of these freedoms.

C.

Muslim Women

There are nearly 6 million Muslims are living in France. With a lucky guess there must be nearly 3 million of Muslim women must live in France. But there is only 2000 women are wearing Nicab with full-face veil in France depending on the numbers of The Interior Ministry12. This law can be an injustice for the rest of the Muslim women who are still living in France by respecting the French laws. This law can create a prejudice on the other Muslim women who are not wearing full-face veil. The full-face veil is the product of the radical Islam. Not all of the Muslims are radical on their religion. This law can indicate all Muslim women as radicals.

1.

Responsibilities:

All women on the world have responsibilities against their families, not only Muslim women. They have a responsibility to be a role model to their children. They have responsibilities against France by respecting the laws and rules of the community.

2.

Values:

Values of the Muslim women are mostly same with the values of the Islam that mentioned above.

3.

Rights:

Muslim women have right to free to pray, free to choose their clothes, free to have a business or work, free to travel safely by without the negative impressions, etc.

12

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/world/europe/12france.html

10 Evren KUCUKKAYA

4.

Freedoms:

Muslim women have same freedoms with any other citizen of France. They cannot hold outside the principle of the equity of French constitution. Still the limit of this freedom is the main problem. Another problem about their freedom is prejudice and treatment of the government and the citizens which belongs other religions.

D.

French Citizens

On January 1, 2011, 65,821,885 people lived in the French Republic13. Catholic constitutes around 85% of the population and Muslims rank second with some 7%. As for the rest of the population, they belong to Protestantism, Judaism and other religions14. As seen above most of the French population is sharing the Christian belief. French culture is created by experiences of ages. French culture is depends on the human rights and freedoms. France constitution is based on the liberty and human rights15. France gained this culture by experiencing huge events which are changed the history during the ages such as French revolution and World War II.

1.

Responsibilities:

French citizens have responsibilities against their country, family and community. Their responsibilities against the France are respecting the laws and electing the governments which they believe to rule the country in peace and justice. Their responsibilities against community are respecting the others freedoms and rights. Their responsibilities against their family are giving their children the knowledge of ethics and respect etc.

2.

Values:

The French adhere to a strong and homogeneous set of values. They cherish their culture, history, language and cuisine, which are considered an art. The French have been and are today world leaders in fashion, food, wine, art and architecture. They

13 14

http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/document.asp?ref_id=ip1332#inter1 retrieved on 27.06.2012 http://english.bayynat.org.lb/muslimcommunities/France.htm retrieved on 27.06.2012 http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/reformclub/f/franceconst.html retrieved on 27.06.2012

15

11 Evren KUCUKKAYA

embrace novelty, new ideas and manners with enthusiasm as long as they are elegant16. Their values are depends on equity, freedom, individualism and hard-working.

3.

Rights:

French citizens have rights that are determined in constitution of France. They have the right to demand safety and wealth from the government.

4.

Freedoms:

Freedom of French citizens is guaranteed by the constitution law of the France. They have the same freedoms with the Muslims who lives in France and more.

E.

Non-governmental Organizations

There are several non-governmental organizations who are directly involved with the French full-face veil ban. These organizations are mostly work on Human Rights. Beside of those there are several Islamc non-governmental organizations which are operating in France. Such as; Islamic Human Rights Commission, Human Rights League, etc.

1.

Responsibilities:

Non-governmental organizations have responsibilities against the community. They can interpret this case in two different ways. They can interpret the full-face veil as a device of the subjugation of women or they can interpret the law is a barrier against the freedom of religion. They have responsibility to enlighten the community about the situation and take actions against the contravention of human rights. But first of all they have to decide which comment is the right one about the situation. Is full-face veil a device of the subjugation or is the full-face ban law is a law against the freedoms.

2.

Values:

Human rights are the first value for these kinds of non-governmental organizations. Human rights are described by United Nation as; Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour,

16

http://www.ediplomat.com/np/cultural_etiquette/ce_fr.htm retrieved on 27.06.2012

12 Evren KUCUKKAYA

religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible17. Human rights are described more detailed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which is announced at December 10, 1948 by United Nations18.

3.

Rights:

Non-governmental organizations have rights to creating lobbies against the violation of human rights. These lobbies can be effective against the governments and will be able to force them step back. These organizations can use these lobbies as pressure groups against any corporation or government to force them step back and change their decisions.

4.

Freedoms:

Non-governmental organizations free to create lobbies against the violations of the human rights. These organizations can organize protests or creating pressure on the sides by using their lobbies. They can organize interviews on television or in social media to inform the people about any situation. Social media is one of the most powerful weapons of the nongovernmental organizations in present day.

III.

Ethical Dilemma (Right vs. Right)

The specific questions in here are: Is French government has a right to limit the freedom of its citizens? Is this law against the characteristic of the secularism? This case is including a right vs. right ethical dilemma. Preventing the subjugation of the women is an important topic for any government. Unfortunately in most countries which are ruling by the Islamic laws which is named Sharia women has very limited rights. This situation can drive any government to take an action against the radical Islam and Islamic laws. In the other hand security problems after 9/11 especially against the Islamic terrorism are creating the prejudice against the Muslim communities around the world. That date was become a defining point for most of the western countries. Prejudices can cause violence against the people in time. Most clear example for that is the holocaust which is happened during the World War II.
17 18

http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx retrieved on 27.06.2012 http://www.humanrights.com/what-are-human-rights/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.html retrieved on 27.06.2012

13 Evren KUCUKKAYA

Today the full-face veil ban law totally forgotten. Today nobody is remembering that law and in practice the law is no longer implemented. The law took its place on the dusty shelves of history will not be a wrong sentence about it.

IV.

Conclusion

First of all one thing must be clarified about this law. Is it really a law against the subjugation or it is only an outcome of the prejudice against the Muslim communities? If it is only aiming to prevent the subjugation than it is the wrong move for a right purpose. But if it is an outcome of the prejudice against the Muslim community than it is totally against the all ideals of the constitution. Women subjugation is an important topic that must be prevent by taking precautions. But it is not right by doing that offending a specific community. Are the laws the best way to prevent the subjugation or not? Best ways of preventing the subjugation are education and development. Most of the Muslim countries are unfortunately Third World countries that without any real education. Women are only raised for being wife and serving men. If the governments of western countries, such as France, do not want to see the women who live by the same way in their countries, their first priority must be the education. Educated women can play any role in community that play by the men.

14 Evren KUCUKKAYA

References

http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/intro_1.shtml http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/moral+compass http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/world/europe/12france.html http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/under-god/post/french-face-veil-ban-goes-intoeffect-two-arrested/2011/04/11/AFQuH7KD_blog.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_France#Impact_on_personal_freedoms http://www.angelfire.com/mn2/reformclub/f/franceconst.html http://plus.lefigaro.fr/note/how-does-france-count-its-muslim-population-20110407-435643 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_France#cite_note-6 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_France#cite_note-express-7 http://islam.uga.edu/norms_values.html http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/12/world/europe/12france.html http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/document.asp?ref_id=ip1332#inter1 http://english.bayynat.org.lb/muslimcommunities/France.htm http://www.ediplomat.com/np/cultural_etiquette/ce_fr.htm http://www.ohchr.org/en/issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx http://www.humanrights.com/what-are-human-rights/universal-declaration-of-humanrights.html

I certify that this Final Paper is my work alone and that I did not plagiarize or unlawfully copy any of the Final Paper.

Evren KUCUKKAYA

15 Evren KUCUKKAYA