However this is deemed objectionable and irritating to the many immigrants who see this as a violation of their rights. The issue is hooting up and both protagonists are rolling up their sleeves. I don't know why the issue is creating so much of a brouhaha. 

The French think that by wearing a scarf a Muslim woman is trying to be ostentatious. 

The Muslim or Easterner believe they are filling a religious or cultural obligation.

The West claims that more religious freedom is accorded to foreigners and immigrants than the East. However how do you define West and East? Is it by geographical and demographically positions or is it by faith or creed.

I do believe that there is religious freedom in the West; no one can deny that. The freedom is so vast that even religion can be made a mockery of and ridiculed. But there is a difference between religious freedom within the parameters of set laws and tolerance.

Tolerance is on the wane. There are countries in Europe where immigrants because of their "strange way" have been beaten and ridiculed. The media under the banner of freedom has a field day portraying others in derogatory terms and even goes a step further by falsifying facts about their faith.

The media in France is worried that the wearing of scarves in schools will divide society and contain the process of integration and equality. I don't know how this reasoning can be presented when all know that integration comes through intellectual harmony. If they want people to integrate in France they might as well make them wearing a uniform or similar clothing as was done in Mao's China. The regimentation of peoples minds and souls cannot take place in modern society.

Many people in the West are offended by nudity. Yet they cannot force these half naked women to dress properly. And then we come to what constitutes proper? Scarves are out while half naked women frolicking around under the gaze of strangers in no way reflects impropriety. The Church in the West tried to contain nude bathing and exposing of bodies. It came under heavy flak, all in the name of freedom. The Church which tried to instill ethics and values failed because of the rise of secularism which made contempt of its teaching. The other dimension in this was the erosion of the family as a unit and the exposure of the young people to pop culture. Nudity, pornography, violence became the in thing. Conservatism was relegated to the background.

And with the arrival of foreigners to France due to various reasons and their spread across the country with their different behavior the scorn of many was directed against them. Objectionable and offensive methods were used to make them feel unwanted.

The immigrant wanted to be felt in a pronounced way. He wore the turban in mosques, his daughters adorned the scarf and tolerance became a victim.

Respect for religious and social norms for Muslims diminished. However I have yet to hear of any objections raised by the French against Jewish boys wearing the yarmulke. In fact laws are being enacted not to hurt the sentiments of these "young boys".

The question then arises as to why this double standard? On the one hand the West goes out its way to treat people like Rushdie and Taslima Nasreen as legends notwithstanding the fact that they are hurting the sentiments of Muslims. On the other hand they go further hurting minority sentiments by forbidding them to wear scarves. And lest we forget not all Muslim girls in France wear it or are even contemplating to do so.

The question then arises in who's interest is it to see that the chasm between West and East widens.