Scott's novel and trenchant discursive analysis exposes the prejudices of the reductionist French versions of secularism and feminism regarding Islam and French Muslims from North African and Arab origins. succeeds in providing a magisterial demonstration of the power of discourse-of the ways in which abstract ideas, when mediated through a vibrant political culture, can influence collective thinking and practice.' -Cécile Laborde, La Vie Des Idées, 'Scott does a good job of conveying the hysteria that surrounded the foulard debate in France.Scott's broad and exhaustive research makes for a bracing account of the debate.' -Laila Lalami, The Nation, 'Brilliant, crisp, and cogently argued.

'This book will undoubtedly rank as one of the best Anglo-American critical commentaries on the affaire du foulard and the 2004 law banning religious signs in schools. The Politics of the Veil calls for a new vision of community where common ground is found amid our differences, and where the embracing of diversity-not its suppression-is recognized as the best path to social harmony. She shows how the insistence on homogeneity is no longer feasible for France-or the West in general-and how it creates the very 'clash of civilizations' said to be at the root of these tensions. Scott maintains that the law, far from reconciling religious and ethnic differences, only exacerbates them. She emphasizes the conflicting approaches to sexuality that lie at the heart of the debate-how French supporters of the ban view sexual openness as the standard for normalcy, emancipation, and individuality, and the sexual modesty implicit in the headscarf as proof that Muslims can never become fully French.

She examines the long history of racism behind the law as well as the ideological barriers thrown up against Muslim assimilation. Joan Wallach Scott, the renowned pioneer of gender studies, argues that the law is symptomatic of France's failure to integrate its former colonial subjects as full citizens. The Politics of the Veil is an explosive refutation of this view, one that bears important implications for us all. Proponents of the law insist it upholds France's values of secular liberalism and regard the headscarf as symbolic of Islam's resistance to modernity. Though the ban applies to everyone, it is aimed at Muslim girls wearing headscarves. In 2004, the French government instituted a ban on the wearing of 'conspicuous signs' of religious affiliation in public schools.

Scott politics of the veil