Integration requires respect

France's parliament will decide on Tuesday whether to ban the burqa. The conservative daily The Irish Times is sceptical: "It is difficult to escape the conclusion that the legislation ... is largely a cynical attempt to pander to anti-Islamist, xenophobic sentiments also seen in other European capitals. In Belgium and Spain bills banning the wearing of face veils are awaiting senate approval. Switzerland last autumn passed a referendum banning the construction of minarets, while in Holland and Hungary there have been strong electoral gains by the far-right. Underlying the move, however, is also an important French philosophical assumption about the integration and assimilation of migrants. ... But integration can, and should, be a two-way process about both encouraging a commitment to and engagement by immigrants with their new home culture while, in return, embracing and respecting their cultural diversity."

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